
A 


0 f 71 


♦ 



^ fO^ c®" 

• ^ V . 0^ ? 

* -rt r o 



^'i ^^ ^ .-4? ^ v' -IV- ^o. 



’ -s 0^ ,»••' ^ ... °'^ ‘’" 

’“o \ *&i/k % 

* v\^ 








A W 0 

r. O A 

^ O A 

•" 

« o > « 



■'o • * ^ ■* 

'T ^ ^ W> 


'^ /\ 

V ^ •'’*’/ 

V ^l'»' <5 ^ a 9 » 

♦ jAW/k** <^ 



o O 

’(fx ,G^ ^ A ' 

0^ t ° ^ ® ♦ ^ • *• ' * 4 

o > 


^o ‘^.’ ,.o'5 
\0 



0 A*' 




■> -6P • 



« W 0 " ^ 

V 


A'" >};, 

a/ **-’^'» ’> 

♦ 47*^0 

"•'T.T* A <, '»>'»* .0 

oV.”-. 'o. ^ C°^ 


•t-. 




'■- V? 

• O U*’ • 

• A v^. 

> > ^K ” 

■\.*"’ o^°— . 

C\ AV %®,Ofs^-v 







<p ^ 

^ ■*" 


* ■#> fP .‘‘-^!% °o j-i- y^e/r^- % 

“ '»bV^ < 



* 4 O ^ 

^ Ov 



V e * * aV s * ^ V 

--V y. »• * f?. ^ yC^ ^ .•O. - 6 . »• 


: r 


<1 
o 



' -y ' 


^ • -G vP- j 
4 4)^ 

o ♦ * A C 5 '*'- 

V « •* fl 

C 



‘ a'^ "k. ' 

' - ^ f % « ' 

” '>hV ti-o^ 




AVI\' 




STORY OF MANON LESCAUT 

AND OF THB 

CHEVALIER DES GRIEUX 

ur 


TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH OF 

- L’ABBi: pb:6vost 

Cv'.\X^U'a- Sf A/CW^CtrV^ O'iyC^ 

V 

BY 

ARTHUR W. GUNDRY 


gtom the JEDitlon of 1753 


NEW YORK 

BELFOED COMPANY 


PUBLISHERS 


Copyright, 1886. 
FREDERICK T. JONEft 


EbUte ol VV. i.. ibiiCi , 


AUTHOE’S PEEFAOE. 


A LTHOUGH I might have introduced the Adventures 
of the Chevalier des Grieux in my own Memoirs, it 
seemed to me that, as there was no necessary connection 
between the two, the reader would find it more satisfac- 
tory to have them separately. The thread of my own 
story would have been too much interrupted by a digres* 
sion of such length. Far as I am from laying any claim 
to precision as a writer, I am yet well aware that a nar- 
rative should be free from details which render it cumber- 
some and involved. To quote the maxim of Horace : 


Ut jam nunc dicat jam nunc debentia dici, 

Pleraque differat, et pra0sens in tempus omittat.” 

Indeed, so weighty an authority is not needed to estab- 
lish so simple a truth ; for this rule has its origin in com- 
mon-sense. 

If the story of my life afforded the public some interest 
and entertainment, I may venture to promise them equal 
pleasure in the perusal of the present sequel to it. They 
will find, in the adventures of M. des Grieux, a terrible 
example of the tyranny of the passions. I have before me 
the task of depicting a headstrong youth who rejects 
happiness, to plunge of his own accord into the deepest 


XU 


AUTHORS PREFACE. 


misery ; who, possessed of every quality necessary for the 
attainment of brilliant distinction, yet, of his own choice, 
prefers an obscure and roving life to all the advantages 
which nature and fortune have placed at his command ; 
who foresees the sorrows which await him, without mak- 
ing an effort to avert them ; who feels them so keenly as 
to he overwhelmed by them, and yet does not avail him- 
self of the remedies which are continually offered him, 
and which might at any moment bring them to an end : 
in short, a character made up of contradictions ; a mix- 
ture of vices and of virtues, a perpetual contrast of lofty 
sentiments and of unworthy conduct — such is the ground- 
work of the picture which I am about to present. 

To judicious minds, a work of this nature will not ap- 
pear a waste of labor. Besides the entertainment to be 
derived from its perusal, it will be found to contain but 
few incidents that may not be turned to good account as 
lessons in morality ; and I take it to be no slight service 
to the public to instruct and amuse them at the same 
time. 

No one who reflects over the precepts of morality can 
fail to be amazed at observing how the^^ are at once both 
honored and neglected ; or to ask himself the reason of 
this strange capriciousness of the human heart, w^hich 
leads it to delight in ideals of virtue and perfection, only 
to deviate from them in practice. Let any one of a fair 
degree of intelligence and cultivation consider what is the 
most frequent subject of his conversations, or even of his 
solitary meditations. He will readily perceive that they 
nearly always turn upon some moral theme. The most 
delightful moments of his life are those which he spends, 
either in solitude or with some friend, in open-hearted 
communion on the charms of virtue, the joys of friendship, 
the means of attaining happiness, the frailties of our 


AUTHORS PREFACE, 


xiii 

nature, which alienate us from it, and the remedies by 
which they may be counteracted. Horace and Boileau 
allude to such converse as one of the most beautiful 
among* the features which they include in their pictures of 
a happy life. How comes it, then, that one falls so easily 
from these lofty speculations, and so soon finds one’s self on 
a level with the common run of mankind ? I am much 
deceived if the reason I am about to allege for it does not 
fully explain this contradiction between our ideals and our 
actions. It is this : all the precepts of morality being no 
more than vague and general principles, there is great 
difficulty in applying them specifically to the details of life 
and duty. 

Let us illustrate the matter by an example. All gener- 
ous natures feel that benevolence and humanity are esti- 
mable virtues, and are eager to display them. At the 
very moment for putting them into practice, however, 
they often pause and hesitate, debating whether this be 
indeed a proper occasion for their exercise, not being 
quite sure as to how far they should be carried, and 
doubting whether the object may not be a mistaken one. 
A hundred difficulties obtrude themselves, such as the 
fe^^r of being duped when desirous of being charitable and 
generous ; of betraying weakness by appearing too tender- 
hearted and impressible ; in a word, of exceeding or of 
falling short of the duties which are too vaguely comprised 
in the terms ‘‘ humanity ” and ‘‘ benevolence.” In such 
uncertainty, only previous experience or example can be re- 
lied upon to guide the impulse of the heart to a wise decis- 
ion. Now, this needful experience is an advantage which 
cannot be freely acquired by every one. It is dependent 
upon the surroundings amid which our lot may have been 
cast, and these differ in the case of every one of us. 

A vast number of persons, therefore, are left with 


XIV 


AUTHORS PREFACE. 


nothing but precedent to serve them as a standard in the 
practice of virtue. 

It is precisely this class of readers to whom works of 
the present nature are likely to prove of the utmost bene- 
fit ; if their author, that is to say, be a man of strict 
rectitude and good judgment. Each incident related in 
them carries with it a certain degree of enlightenment, 
and serves as a lesson to supply the place of experience. 
In each ad venture may be found an example for imitation ; 
all that is lacking is its application to the circumstances 
of the individual case. The whole work, in fact, may be 
regarded as a treatise on morality, pleasantly reduced 
into practice. 

There may, perchance, be readers austere enough to 
think that it ill-beseems a man of my years to take up hi* 
pen for the purpose of relating a story of love and ad- 
venture. To all such I would say that if there be an;y 
truth in the above reflections, I need no other justifica- 
tion ; while, if they be false, my error must be my excuse. 


THE STORY OF MANOR LESCAUT. 


PART FIRST. 


I 










^ « % 


% ^ 













4 \ 


r ' 


^ •*^ ' ■ * > 




« 

> • 

/>; 




• » 




f^. 


« » 


•y 4 




# • 

f 


r-" 


•f -.' 



A.,! 


I 


:< i. 






. ^ 

\ 


».» 

'-K/, 

»V J 


« « 




» • « 



1 


' 

♦ v 

r ' •<“ 




r-: 


^ • 




■‘iyr; ;.' " 


✓ • 


♦- / 






' V ^ 


V'» 




^ » 




^ - 


»->' • ^ P 







> • 




I • 


< 4^ 




:r- •. 


,'J. 


f-Vf i 

‘ ’ / » V . 'l t *U , ,. '. 


•% * 1 ^, < / . ■ ■> 
■■■ >-^ < 


^ I 


. r* 


I • 



ri » 1 : 


4 ♦ 

* ¥ 

«* • I 


rv 

■ V . , • . 


' •: i 






w 

V . 




r * 


f 



/'> . 


» ( 


4 L 


, r 4 . 




# 

n ' 


f.X' 


% 


t > 


w « 

»• . 




T V - 




: 5” , 



• \ 


' ■^Ejirt: "■ 




- / iV: 


J ^ 

r 


-■^Vr: ■ 


/*' * 


I' 




< 

0 

* V 


rV' ^ * ? 


-.y^ 


^ • 


/ ' 


> ^ 

V 4 

* _ 


*• V ♦ - 
4 




V-y 




» , * * 


•i 

I 

>4 


' I 






> 

4 


•;‘‘. .f^r 


v'^..*. -.• : :.t 
• • 






1 I 




•> . . Vr. 

^r>r 




4 » 


'<*..'r 4 


2.*-^ 


Vi 




- t 


ft 4 




>r-' 



iLJ- •- 


# * 



. ^ 


.9> 


^ . I 


; - V 4 ^ 

•*‘k v ^ 




* • 4 

«• 


*,< 


iv 

r 




ir 








ft 1 



« ^ 
- » 


. f 


4 . 


4 • 

t«i 




♦ V 




/> 


» p 


K *4 


» ft $ 

4 -•*> 


♦. >- 

•>.« - 


. 4 



^ 4 • 

: ' :,r : 




t ^ 


ft *4 


C ft 


^0 • * 
•f 

• V ft • 


•1 


VT-. 

> 


\i?^\ 


< I 


r • • 4 


V-' !♦ ^.' ■ 


il'-' 

. Ti 


“ { 

- -• #<-, 



X MUST carry my reader back to the period of my life at 
which I first met the Chevalier des Grieux. This was 
some six months prior to my departure for Spain. Al- 
though I rarely emerged from my retirement, deference 
to the wishes of my daughter occasionally led me to un- 
dertake various little expeditions, which I was in the habit 
of making as short as possible. 

I chanced one day to be returning from Kouen, whither 
I had gone at her request to attend the trial of a cause 
before the Parliament of Normandy, which involved the 
right of succession to an estate bequeathed to me by my 
grandfather on the maternal side, and my title to which I 
had made over to her. Having retraced my steps by 
way of Evreux, where I slept the first night, I arrived the 
next day in time for dinner at Passy, which is some five 
or six leagues further on. On entering this town I was 
surprised to observe a general commotion among its in- 
habitants. They were hurrying out of their houses and 
running in a crowd to the door of a wretched hostelry, 


18 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


in front of which were standing* two covered wagons. 
From the appearance of the horses, which were still in 
harness, and reeking from the heat and fatigue of their 
journey, I surmised that the two vehicles had only just 
arrived. 

I stopped a moment to inquire the cause of the tumult, 
hut could obtain little enlightenment from the inquisitive 
crowd, who paid no heed to my questions, but went on 
pushing and fighting among themselves in their eagerness 
to reach the inn. At last an archer,* wearing a cross-belt 
and carrying his musket on his shoulder, made his appear- 



ance at the door. Beckoning him towards me, I asked 
him to tell me what was occasioning all this hubbub. 

‘‘Nothing, sir,” he replied, “nothing but a dozen girls 
of the town whom I and my comrades are taking to Havre- 
de-Grace, where we are going to put them aboard ship for 
America. There are some pretty ones among them, and 
that, apparently, is what excites the curiosity of these good 
country-folk.” 

I should have passed on after this explanation, had not 
my attention been arrested by the exclamations of an old 
woman, who came out of the inn wringing her hands and 

* The armed police of Paris were called archers at the period of 
this story.— Translator. 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


19 


crying* that she could not bear to see such horrible bar- 
barity, it was enough to excite the pity of any one but a 
savage. 

“ What is amiss ? ” I asked her. 

Oh, sir ! ” she replied, go in yonder and see if ’tis not 
a heart-rending sight.” 

Urged by curiosity I dismounted, leaving my horse to 
the care of my groom. I had some difficulty in effecting 
an entrance, but pushing my way through the crowd, I 
beheld, in truth, a most touching spectacle. 

Among the twelve girls who w^ere chained together by 



their waists in two groups of six each, vras one whose face 
and whole appearance were so little in keeping with her 
present situation that under any other circumstances I 
should have taken her to be a person of the highest rank. 

The sadness of her expression, and her soiled and be- 
draggled dress, detracted so little from her beauty, that 
I was filled with pity and respect as I looked at her. She 
endeavored, however, to turn herself away as far as her 
chain would allow, in order to conceal her face from the 
gaze of the bystanders. There was something so unaffected 
in her efforts to hide herself, that they seemed to be 
prompted by an innate sense of modesty . 

The six guards who were in charge of this unhappy 


20 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


band being also in the room, I drew aside the one who was 
in command, and asked him to give me some account of 
how this lovely girl had met with such a fate. He could 
do so only in a very general way. 

‘‘We took her from the Hopital,’’ said he, “by order 
of the Lieutenant-General of Police. She was not shut 
up there as a reward for good conduct, that is certain. 1 
have questioned her several times on our way here, but 
she obstinately refuses to reply. I received no orders to 
treat her more kindly than the others ; but for all that I 
have shown her some consideration, because she appears 
to me a trifle better than her companions. Yonder is a 
young man,” added the archer, “who may be able to 
tell you more than I can concerning the cause of her dis- 
grace. He has followed her all the way from Paris, and 
has scarcely stopped weeping for a moment. He must 
be her brother, or her lover.” 

I turned toward the corner of the room where the young 
man was sitting. He appeared to be buried in deep 
thought. I never beheld a more striking picture of grief. 
He was very simply dressed ; but it did not require a second 
glance to perceive that he was a man of birth and educa- 
tion. He rose as I approached him, and his features, his 
expression, and his every movement bore the mark of such 
refinement and nobility that I felt myself instinctively 
drawn towards him. 

“ Do not let me disturb you,” I said, seating myself be- 
side him. “ Will you be kind enough to gratify the curi- 
osity which I feel to learn something of the history of that 
fair creature, who seems to me little fitted for the sad 
condition in which I now see her ? ” 

He replied frankly that he could not let me know who 
she was, without disclosing his own name, which he had 
strong reasons for desiring to keep a secret. 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


21 


“ However/’ he continued, pointing- to the archers as 
he spoke, I can tell you what those wretches know only 
too well : that I love her with such passionate devotion 
as to make me the unhappiest of men. I left no means 
untried at Paris to obtain her release. Entreaties, 
stratagem, and force proving alike in vain, I resolved to 
follow her to the very ends of the earth, if need be. The 
ship which carries her to America shall take me with 
her. But, so utterl}^ inhuman are those cowardly rascals,” 
he added, alluding to the archei-s, “ that they will not allow 
me to go near her. My intention was to make an open 



attack upon them when some leagues outside of Paris. 
I had four men with me, whom I had paid liberally to 
promise me their assistance. The traitors made off with 
my money and left me single-handed. Seeing that it was 
impossible to accomplish anything by force, I put up my 
sword and proposed to the archers that they should at 
least allow me to accompany them, promising to reward 
them if they would do so. Their cupidity led them to 
consent. They insisted upon being paid every time they 
granted me leave to speak to my mistress. The contents 
of my purse were soon exhausted, and now that I am penni- 
less the^^ have the barbarity to thrust me away brutally 


22 


THE STORY OF MaNON LESCAUT. 


whenever I take a step towards her. Only a moment 
since, upon my venturing to approach her in spite of 
their threats, they had the insolence to raise the butts of 
their muskets against me. In order to satisfy their greed 
and to fit myself for continuing the journey on foot, I now 
find myself forced to sell my horse, which, sorry animal 
though it is, has carried me so far on the wa^^.” 

Although he related all this with apparent calmness, 
tears stood in his eyes as he concluded. The whole inci- 
dent struck me as strange and pathetic in the e*xtreme. 



I will not press you,” I said, to confide your secret 
affairs to me ; hut if I can he of assistance to you in any 
way, I gladly offer you my services.” 

“Alas!” he replied, “I have abandoned all hope. 
There is nothing left for me but to resign myself to my 
fate, cruel as it is, and go to America, where my love and 
I will at least he free together. I have written to one of 
my friends, who will send me some money to Havre-de- 
Grace. My only anxiety is as to how I am to reach there, 
and as to how I can procure that poor girl,” he added, 
glancing sadly at his mistress, “ some little comfort on the 
way.” 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


23 


‘‘Well/’ said I, “I will solve that difficulty for you. 
Pray oblig-e me by accepting this money. I only regret 
that I cannot serve you in any other way.” 

I then gave him four louis d'o7% taking care not to be 
observed by the guards as I did so ; for I shrewdly con- 
jectured that if they suspected him of having such a sum 
about him they would put a higher price on their favors. 
It even occurred to me to strike a bargain with them to 
allow the young lover to talk with his mistress at his 
pleasure all the way to Havre. Beckoning to the archer 



in command, I made the proposition to him. In spite of 
his effrontery, it seemed to put him to the blush. 

“You see, sir,” he responded with some embarrass- 
ment, “ we should have no objection to his speaking to the 
girl ; but he is not satisfied with that. He wants to be 
continually at her side. That puts us to no little trouble, 
and it is only fair that he should pay for the inconvenience 
he causes us.” 

“ How much, think you, would prevent your feeling the 
annoyance ? ” I asked him. 

He had the impudence to ask me for two louis, which I 
at once gave him, saying as I did so : 

“ Mind you, sirrah ! Do not attempt any rascality ; 
for I am going to leave m^^ address with this young 


24 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


gentleman, so that he may let me know of it if you do ; 
and I have influence enough to see that you are punished, 
depend upon it.” 

The affair thus cost me six louis or. 

The young stranger expressed such deep gratitude and 
thanked me so gracefully that I was confirmed in my im- 
pression that he was of noble birth, and fully deserving of 
the liberality I had shown him. I spoke a few words to 
his mistress before I left the room. She answered me so 
sweetly and with such charming modesty of manner that, 



as I went out, I fell to musing for a long while over the 
incomprehensibility of the female character. 

Returning, as I did, to my life of solitude, I was left in 
ignorance of the sequel of this adventure. The lapse of two 
years had driven the matter completely out of my mind, 
when chance again afforded me an opportunity of learning 
the full particulars of the affair. 

I was returning from London, with my pupil, the Mar- 
quis of , and had just arrived at Calais. We put up, if 

I remember rightly, at the Golden Lion, where, for some 
reason, we were obliged to spend the whole of that day 
and the following night. As I was taking a walk through 
the streets in the afternoon, I caught sight of the same 


THE STORY OP MANON LPSCAtTf. 


25 


young man I had met at Passy. He was very poorly 
clad, and much paler than when I had first seen him. He 
was carrying an old portmanteau under one arm, and had 
evidently only just arrived in the town. His was too 
handsome a face to he easily forgotten, however, and I 
knew him again immediately. 

I cannot let that young man pass without speaking to 
him,” I said to the marquis. 

He was overjoyed when he, in turn, recognized me. 

“ Ah ! sir,” he exclaimed, kissing my hand, I am in- 
deed glad to have an opportunity of assuring you once 
again of my undying gratitude ! ” 



I asked him whence he had come. He replied that he 
had just arrived^ hy sea, from Havre-de-Grace, whither 
he had returned from America only a short time since. 

From your appearance I fear that you are not very 
well off for money,” said I ; ‘Gf you will walk on to the 
Golden Lion, where I am lodging, I will he with you in a 
few minutes.” 

I soon returned, in fact, full of impatience to learn the 
details of his misfortunes and all the particulars of his 
voyage to America. I embraced him cordially, and gave 
orders that he should be allowed to want for nothing. 

He did not wait to be urged to relate the story of his 
life. 


26 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


‘‘You treat me with such noble generosity, sir/’ he 
said to me, “that I should reproach myself with base 
ingratitude were I to withhold anything from you which 
it would interest you to hear. I will tell you, if you care 
to listen, not only my misfortunes and sufferings, but the 
follies and misdeeds for which I have most cause to blush ; 
and I am sure that, while you may condemn, you cannot 
help but pity me.” 

[I must here explain that I committed the young man’s 
story to writing almost immediately after hearing it, and 
that the reader may consequently rest assured of the abso- 
lute accuracy and fidelity of the following narrative. Its 
fidelity extends, I may say, even to the relation of the 
reflections and sentiments to which the 3mung adventurer 
gave expression in language of the utmost grace. 

Here, then, is his story ; to which I shall add not a 
single word, from beginning to end, that is not his own.] 


CHAPTER II. 


I WAS seventeen years of ag*e, and was completing my 
studies in philosophy at Amiens, where I had been sent 
by my parents, who belonged to one of the best families in 

P . The life I led was so blameless and correct that 

my masters held me up as an example to the whole col- 
lege ; not that I made any extraordinary efforts to merit 
this commendation, but I was naturally of a sedate and 
gentle temperament. I applied myself to study as a 
matter of inclination ; and the evidences which I gave of 
an instinctive aversion from vice were put to my credit 
as positive virtues. My rank, my rapid progress in my 
studies, and a certain comeliness of person, had secured 
me the acquaintance and esteem of all the leading people 
of the town. 

I acquitted myself so much to the general approbation 
at my final public examinations, that his lordship, the 
Bishop of the Diocese, who was present on the occasion in 
question, proposed that I should enter upon an ecclesias- 
tical career, in which I could not fail, he told me, to attain 
greater distinction than in the Order of Malta, for which 
my parents had destined me. By their wish I was al- 
ready wearing the cross of that Order^ with the title of 
the Chevalier des Grieux. 


THE STORY OR MAN ON LESCAUT. 


S8 


Vacation being now at hand, I was preparing to return 
home to my father, who had promised soon to send me 
to the Academy. My only regret on leaving Amiens 
was that I had to part with a friend there to whom I had 
always been tenderly attached. He was my elder by a 
few years. We had been brought up together; but, as 
his family was far from wealthy, he was obliged to enter 
the Church, and had to remain at Amiens after I left, in 
order to pursue the studies demanded by that calling. 

He was possessed of so many good qualities that I could 
not even begin to enumerate them now. You will find 
him displaying the best of them in the course of my story ; 
and, above all, a zeal and unselfishness in friendship 
which surpass the most renowned examples of antiquity. 
Had I, in those days, followed his counsels, I should have 
always been a virtuous and happy man. Had I even 
heeded his rebukes when deep in the gulf into which 
my passions dragged me, I should have rescued some- 
thing from the shipwreck of my fortune and reputation. 
But he has reaped no other fruit from his brotherly solici- 
tude than the grief of finding it all in vain, and of being 
sometimes harshly requited for it by an ungrateful wretch, 
who has more than once actually resented it as officious. 

I had settled on the time for my departure from Amiens. 
Alas, that I did not fix it for one day sooner ! I should 
then have gone home to my father with my mnocence ah 
unsullied. 

The very evening before I was to have left Amiens, as 
I was taking a walk with my friend, whose name was 
Tiberge, we saw the Arras diligence arrive, and strolled 
after it to the inn at which these conversances set down 
their passengers. We were actuated merely by idle cu- 
riosity. Some women alighted, and withdrew at once ; 
but one, a very young girl, remained standing in the 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


29 


court-yard, while an elderly man, who appeared to be 
acting* as her escort, busied himself in getting her baggage 
taken out of the hoot. 

Her beauty struck me as being so remarkable that I — 
who had never given a thought to the difference between 
the sexes, nor bestowed even the most passing attention 
upon a woman — I, be it repeated, whose virtue and pi*o- 
priety were the subjects of general eulogy, felt myself 
suddenly and madly enamoured of her. One of the defects 
of my character had always been that I was excessively 
timid and easily disconcerted ; but now, so far from being 



restrained by that weakness, I advanced boldly towards 
her who was already the mistress of my heart. 

Although she was even younger than m^^self, she re- 
ceived my polite advances without any signs of embarrass- 
ment. I asked her what brought her to Amiens, and wheth- 
er she had any acquaintances in the town. She replied 
ingenuously that she had been sent there by her parents to 
enter a convent. Love, though it had been enthroned in 
my heart only a few short moments, had already so 
quickened my perception that I saw in this intention a 
mortal blow to all my hopes. From the manner in which 
I talked to her, she soon guessed what was passing in my 
mind ; for she was by no means so unsophisticated as 


30 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT 


myself. She was being’ forced to take the veil against 
her will — doubtless in order to curb that love of pleasure 
which had already asserted itself in her character, and 
which, in after days, was the cause of all her misfortunes 
and my own. I combated the cruel intentions of her 
parents with' all the arguments that my new-born love 
and scholastic eloquence could suggest. She affected 
neither severity nor disdain, and told me, after a moment’s 
silence, that she foresaw, only too clearly, how unhappy 
she was going to he ; but that it was apparently the will 
of Heaven, as there was no way of escaping her fate. 


The tender glances and the winning air of sadness with 
which she accompanied these words — nay, rather let me 
sa}^, the dominating influence of my destiny, which was 
hurrying me on to my ruin — did not allow me a moment’s 
time for reflection as to what my answer should be. I 
assured her that if she would but rel^^ on my honor and on 
the deep affection with which she had already inspired 
me, I would lay down my very life to deliver her from 
the tyranny of her parents, and to secure her happiness. 

Many a time have I wondered, in reflecting over this 
incident, how I succeeded in mustering up such boldness 
and facility of expression ; but Love would not rank among 
the gods did he not often work miracles. 




THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 31 

I added much more in the way of urgent entreaty. The 
fair stranger was well aware that men are not deceivers 
at the age I had then reached. She frankly admitted 
that if I could think of any way of rescuing her from her 
impending fate, she would consider herself indebted to me 
for what was more precious than life itself — her liberty. 

I once more declared that there was nothing I would 
not undertake on her behalf ; hut, being too inexperienced 
to be able to hit upon a plan for aiding her then and there, 
I confined myself to this general assurance, which was 



not calculated to he of much assistance either to her or 
to myself. 

Her aged Argus now making his approach, my hopes 
would have been baffled, had she not been gifted with enough 
ready wit to make up for my own deficiencies in that 
respect. As her guardian joined us, I was not a little sur- 
prised to hear her address me as cousin, and tell me, with 
the utmost composure, that as she had been so fortunate 
as to meet me at Amiens, she would postpone her entrance 
into the convent until the following day, in order that she 
might have the pleasure of supping with me. I was not 
slow to catch the spirit of this ruse, and recommended her 
to put up at an inn, the landlord of which was devoted 


32 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


heart and soul to my service, having* been my father’s 
coachman for many years before he had established him- 
self at Amiens. 

I conducted her there myself, despite the muttered 
objections of her old protector ; while my friend Tiberge, 
who was completely mystified by this scene, followed me 
without uttering a word. He had not overheard our con- 
versation, having occupied himself in pacing* up and down 
the court-yard while I was wooing my fair one. Dread- 
ing his virtuous scruples, I rid myself of his presence by 
asking him to execute a small commission for me ; and 



thus had the happiness, when we reached the inn, of having 
my heart’s mistress entirely to myself. 

I soon discovered that I was not the mere boy I had 
hitlierto supposed myself to be. My heart expanded under 
the influence of a thousand sensations of pleasure of which 
I had never so much as dreamed. A delicious warmth 
suffused itself through all my veins, and I yielded up my 
whole being to an indescribable ecstasy which robbed me 
for some time of the free use of my voice, and found 
expression only in my eyes. 

Mademoiselle Manon Lescaut — for such, she told me, 
was her name — seemed to be well pleased at the effect pro- 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


33 


duced upon me by her charms ; and I thought that I de- 
tected signs of no less emotion on her side. She confessed 
that she did not regard me with indifference, and that 
liberty would be all the sweeter to her if she owed it to 
me. She was eager to know who I was, and looked^ upon 
me with increased favor when I told her ; for, being of 
humble origin herself, it flattered her self-esteem to find 
that she had made the conquest of a lover of my rank. 
We then began to consider by what means we' could gain 
the happiness of mutual possession. 

After much discussion we concluded that there was no 



other course open to us but flight. We should have to 
elude the vigilance of her escort, who, though only a ser- 
vant, was not a man to be trifled with. We arranged 
that I should order a postchaise during the night, and 
that I should return to the inn early in the morning, be- 
fore he was awake, when we would steal away quietly, 
and make straight for Paris, getting married upon our 
arrival there. I had about fifty crowns, the fruits of my 
small savings, while she had nearly double that amount. 
We imagined, inexperienced children that we were, that 
this sum was inexhaustible ; and we reckoned no less con- 
fidently upon the success of the rest of our plan. 


34 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


After having* eaten my supper with greater zest than I 
had ever before felt for that meal, I withdrew to put our 
project into execution. My arrangements were the more 
easily made from the fact that what little luggage I had 
was already packed in preparation for my intended return 
home the following day. I had thus nothing further to do 
than to have my trunk removed, and to hire a chaise, 
to be ready at five o’clock in the morning — at which hour 
the town gates would he opened. But I encountered an 
unforeseen obstacle, which came within an ace of defeat- 
ing my whole scheme. 

Tiberge, though only three years my elder, was a young 
man of mature judgment and very virtuous habits of 
life. He loved me with a deep affection such as is rarely 
to be met with. The beauty of Mademoiselle Manon, my 
eagerness to escort her, and the evident pains I had been 
at to get rid of him, had all combined to awaken some sus- 
picion of my infatuation in his mind. 

He had not ventured to return to the inn where he had 
left me, for fear that I might be annoyed at his doing so, 
but had gone to await me at my lodgings, where I found 
him when I came in, although it was ten o’clock in the 
evening. His presence disconcerted me, and he was not 
long in perceiving that I found it irksome. 

'' I am sure,” he said to me frankly, ''that you have 
some project in mind which you are anxious to conceal 
from me ; I can see it by your manner.” 

I replied, brusquely enough, that I was not obliged to 
account to him for all my intentions. 

"No,” he responded, "but you have always treated 
me as a friend, and that relation presupposes some degree 
of confidence and candor.” 

He pressed me so earnestly and so persistently to dis- 
close my secret to him, that, never having been in the 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


35 


habit of concealing anything from him, I took him entirely 
into my confidence regarding my passion for Manon. 

He listened to my avowal with an expression of dis- 
approval in his face which made me tremble. Above all, 
I repented my folly in divulging my project of flight to 
him. He told me that he was too sincerely my friend not 
to oppose it by every means in his power. He would first, 
he said, urge upon me every consideration which he thought 
likely to dissuade me from it, and if I did not then re- 
nounce this unworthy determination of mine, he would 
notify persons who would effectually prevent its execution. 



He thereupon lectured me gravely for more than a quar- 
ter of an hour, concluding with a repetition of his threat of 
informing against me unless I gave him my word of honor 
that I would not he guilty of conduct so opposed to all the 
dictates of reason and morality. 

I was in despair at having betrayed myself at so awk- 
ward a juncture. However, love had sharpened my wits not 
a little during the last few hours, and, reflecting that I had 
not informed him that my plan was to be carried into effect 
the next day, I resolved to throw him off the scent by 
means of a slight equivocation. 

Tiberge,” I said to him, I have hitherto always be- 
lieved you to be my friend, and I wished to put you to the 


36 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


test by confiding* in you as I have done. It is true that I 
am in love ; I have not deceived you on that score ; but, 
as to my running away, that is not an affair to be under- 
taken at hap-hazard. Come for me at nine o’clock to- 
morrow morning, and I will, if possible, let you see the 
fair object of my passion. You shall then judge whethei* 
or not she is worthy of my taking such a step for her 
sake.” 

Assuring me again and again of his friendship for me, 
he at last left me alone. 



I occupied the night in putting my affairs in order, and 
towards daybreak hastened to the inn, where I found 
Mademoiselle Manon awaiting me. She was at her win- 
dow, which looked out on the street; so that, catching 
sight of me as I approached, she came down and opened 
the door for me herself. We stole softly 4iAvaA^. She had 
nothing with her but a bundle containing some changes 
of linen, which I carried. We found the chaise awaiting 
us, and quickly left the town behind us. 

I shall relate in due course how Tiberge acted when he 
realized that I had deceived him. His friendly zeal on my 
behalf lost none of its ardor^ and you Avill see to what 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


37 


lengths he carried it, and^^ihat tears may well rise to my 
eyes at the thought of how I have always requited his 
devotion. 

We pushed on our way with such speed that we arrived 
at St. Denis before night-fall. I had ridden beside the 
chaise all the way, and this had scarcely allowed of our 
speaking to one another, except while changing horses ; 
but now that we were drawing so near to Paris, and felt 
that we were almost out of danger, we allowed ourselves 
time to partake of some refreshment, not a morsel having 



passed our lips since we left Amiens. '^Deeply enamored 
as I was of Manon, she succeeded in persuading me that 
she felt no less tenderly toward me. So little restraint did 
we place upon our caresses, that we had not even patience 
to wait until we were alone to indulge in them. Our 
postilions and the inn-keepers along the road stole won- 
dering glances at us j and their surprise at seeing such 
passionate love-making between two children of our age 
was very apparent. 

Our projects of marriage were forgotten at St. Denis. 
We defrauded the Church of her rights, and found our- 
selves united without having paused to reflect. ( 


38 


THE 8T0EY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


It is certain that with my affectionate and constant 
nature, I should now have been happy for the rest of my 
life, had Manon remained faithful to me. The better I 
grew to know her, the more fascinating qualities did I dis- 
cover in her. Her mind, her heart, her gentleness, and 
her beauty, were all links in a chain by which it was so 
sweet to be bound, that I should have asked for no other 
happiness than to be held captive by it forever. Y et, by 
a terrible caprice of fate, the very thing which might 
have given me complete felicity is that which has brought 
me to the verge of despair ! I am at this moment the 
most miserable of men, in consequence of that self-same 
constancy from which I might justly have expected a life 
of supreme contentment and the most perfect rewards of 
love ! 


CHAPTER III. 


On our arrival at Paris we took a furnished apartment 

in the Rue V and (to my sorrow, as events proved) 

near the house of Monsieur de B , a well-known Farmer- 

General.* Three weeks went by, during* which I was so 
entirely absorbed in my passion that I scarcely g*ave a 
thoug-ht to my family, or to the g-rief which my father 
must have felt at my absence. As, however, there was 
nothing* approaching* to debauchery in my conduct, and 
as Manon also behaved with every reg*ard for propriety, 
the quietness of our life served to recall me gradually to a 
sense of duty. 

* Before the Revolution, the collection of various branches of the 
public revenues of France was entrusted to individual speculators, 
known as Farmers-General {Fermiers Generaux) to whom the Gov- 
ernment /a?"med out the right of levying certain taxes, such as those 
on salt, tobacco, etc. The people were scandalously mulcted and 
oppressed by the majority of these men, who built up enormous for- 
tunes by the spoliation of their unhappy victims, who were left virtu- 
ally without redress. The shameful methods by which these ill-got- 
ten gains were acquired, and the notorious debauchery and profligacy 
in which they were squandered, made the Farmers-General objects 
of popular hatred and indignation, which wreaked itself upon them 
without mercy when the Revolution brought about the day of reckon- 
ing. —Translator. 


40 


THE STORY OF 3IAN0N LESCAUT. 


I resolved, if possible, to effect a reconciliation with my 
father. My mistress was so lovable that I had no doubt 
of her being- able to win his favor, if I could but find a 
way of making her modesty and hei* many other merits 
known to him. In a word, I was sanguine enough to be- 
lieve that I could obtain his consent to my marrying her, 
liaving by this time been disabused of any hopes I had 
once entertained of doing so without his approval. 

I communicated this project to Manon, and impressed 
upon her that not only did considerations of duty and af- 
fection dictate my taking this step, but that it was almost 
a matter of necessity for us, as our funds were seriously 
diminished, and I was beginning to realize that they were 
far from being as inexhaustible as I had supposed. Manon 
received the proposition coldly. However, as she based 
her objections to it only upon the ground of her love for 
me, and her fear of my being lost to her should my father 
disapprove of our plans after he had learnt our place of 
retreat, I was, left without the faintest suspicion of the 
cruel blow that was about to be inflicted upon me. To the 
plea of necessity she replied that we still had enough to 
support us for a few weeks longer, and that after that she 
would have recourse to the kindness of some relations in 
the country, to whom she would write. She softened her 
refusal by caresses so tender and so impassioned, that I, 
whose life was wrapped up in her and who had not the 
slightest misgivings as to her loyalty, applauded alike her 
arguments and her intentions. 

I had left in her hands the disposal of our money and 
the care of defraying our ordinary expenses. I soon be- 
gan to observe that our daily fare was becoming more 
luxurious, and that she had indulged herself in some costly 
adornments of dress. As I was well aware that we could 
not have more than twelve or fifteen pistoles remaining, 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


41 


at the very most, I expressed my surprise to her at this 
apparent augmentation of bur wealth. She laughingly 
begged me to give myself no uneasiness on that score. 

Did I not promise you,’’ she said, that I would find 
some resources ? ” I loved her too confidingly to be quick 
to take alarm. 

One day, having occasion to go out during the after- 
noon, I told her before I went that I expected to be away 
longer than usual. On my return I was surprised to be 
kept waiting two or three minutes at the door. Our only 
servant was a young girl of nearly our own age. When 



she came to let me in, I asked her why she had delayed so 
long. She replied, with evident embarrassment, that she 
had not heard me knock. 

I knocked only once,” I said to her, ‘^so, if you did 
not hear me, what made ^mu come to the door ? ” 

This question so disconcerted her that, not having 
presence of mind enough to think of a plausible answer, 
she burst into tears, assuring me at the same time that it 
was not her fault, as her mistress had forbidden her to 

open the door until Monsieur de B had gone out by 

the back stairway which led from the dressing-room. I 
was so stunned by this intelligence that all my strength 


42 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


deserted me, and, feeling- utterly unable to enter our apart- 
ment until I bad recovered myself, I determined to leave 
the house again under the pretext of having some further 
business to attend to. I accofdingly ordered the girl to 
inform her mistress that I should return in a few minutes, 
but not to mention that she had told me anything about 
Monsieur de B . 

I was so completely overcome that, as I made my way 
down-stairs, I could not restrain my tears, though as yet 
I scarcely knew from what feeling they arose. I went 
into the nearest cafe, and there, seating myself at a table 



and burying my face in my hands, I tried to unravel the 
chaos of emotions which were surging in my heart. I 
dared not recall what I had just heard, but sought to 
cheat myself into believing it all a dream. More than 
once I was on the point of going back to our lodgings and 
acting as though I knew nothing of the occurrence. It 
seemed to me so impossible that Manon could have been un- 
faithful to me, that I feared to wrong her even by a sus- 
picion. I adored her — that was certain ; I had given her 
no greater proofs of my love than I had received of hers ; 
why, then, should I accuse her of being less sincere and 
constant than myself ? What reason could she have had 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 43 

for deceiving- me ? But three hours ago she had lavished 
her tenderest caresses upon me, and had welcomed mine 
with rapturous delight. I knew my own heart no better 
than I knew hers. ‘'No! No ! ” I said again; “Manon 
cannot be false ; it is impossible ! She knows too well that 
I live only for her — that I worship her ; these, surely, can- 
not he reasons for depriving me of her love! ’’ 

Argue as I would, however, I could not stifle my un- 
easiness at Monsieur de B ’s visit and his stealthy de- 

parture. I called to mind, also, Manon’s little purchases, 
which seemed to me beyond our present means. They 



were certainly suggestive of the liberality of a new lover. 
And then, again, the confident manner in which she had 
alluded to resources which were unknown to me ? I found 
it difficult to interpret all these enigmas in as favorable a 
sense as my heart desired. 

On the other hand, I considered that she had scarcely 
been out of my sight since we had come to Paris. In all 
our occupations, our walks, and our amusements, we 
were invariably together. Great Heavens ! a moment’s 
separation would have been an intolerable affliction for us. 
It had become a necessity of our lives to he constantly 
interchanging assurances of our mutual love ; to forego 


44 


THE STORY OE MANON LESOAtTT. 


that sweet privilege would have been torture to us. I 
could thus conceive of scarcely a moment during which 
any one but myself could have been in Manon’s thoughts. 

At last I flattered myself that I had found the solution 

of the mystery. ‘‘ Monsieur de B I said to myself, 

‘‘is a man who does an extensive business and has wide- 
spread connections. Manon’s relations have doubtless 
remitted some money to her through him. She has prob- 
ably already received some from him, and he came to-day 
to bring her more. No doubt she has taken innocent 
amusement in concealing it from me in order to give me 
a pleasant surprise. Perhaps she would have told me all 
about it had I gone in as usual instead of coming here to 
torture myself ; at all events, she will not keep me in the 
dark any longer when I mention the matter to her.’’ 

I fortified myself so resolutely with this view of the af- 
fair that it served sensibly to diminish my distress. Re- 
turning home at once, I embraced Manon with my accus- 
tomed tenderness. She received me affectionately. At 
first I was tempted to reveal my conjectures to her, feel- 
ing more certain than ever that they were correct ; but I 
restrained myself, in the hope that she might anticipate 
me by telling me of her own accord all that had occurred. 

When supper was served, I sat down to the table with 
an air of great gayety ; but, by the light of the candle 
which was placed between us, I detected, as I imagined, 
an expression of sadness in the face and eyes of my dear 
mistress. This thought inspired me, too, with melancholy. 
1 observed that there was something unusual in the man- 
ner in which she looked at me. Whether to think it love 
or pity, I scarcely knew ; but the sentiment, whatever it 
was, seemed to me a tender and wistful one. 

I gazed at her with equal intentness ; and, perhaps, she 
was no less at a loss to divine from my face what were 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


45 


the feeling's in my heart. It never occurred to us either to 
speak or to eat. At last I saw her eyes fill with tears — 
false, perfidious tears ! 

Great Heavens ! ” I cried, you are weeping, dearest 
Manon — yes, weeping ! and yet you have not confided to 
me one word of the grief which thus moves you to tears ! ” 
Her only answer was a sigh, which added to my dis- 
tress. I arose from my seat, trembling with emotion, and 
besought her, with all the vehemence of love, to tell me 
why she wept. Tears coursed each other down my own 



cheeks as I wiped away those that fell from her eyes. I 
was more dead than alive, and in an agony of grief and 
anxiety which it would have touched the heart of a bar- 
barian to behold. 

While thus preoccupied with her I heard the sound of 
several footsteps on the stairs. Some one tapped softly 
at the door. Manon gave me a kiss, and, disengaging 
herself from my embrace, hurried Into the dressing-room, 
quickly closing the door after her. Merely supposing 
that, as her toilet was somewhat disarranged, she wished 
to avoid being seen by the strangers who had knocked, I 
went to the door myself. 

Scarcely had I thrown it open when I found myself 


46 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


seized by three men, whom I recog’nized as servants of my 
father’s. They offered me no violence ; but, two of them 
having* g-rasped me by the arms, the third searched my 
pockets, from which he took a small knife — the only 
weapon I had about me. They beg-ged me to pardon 
them for the necessity they were under of treating me so 
disrespectfully, and told me frankly that they were acting 
by my father’s orders, and that my eldest brother was 
waiting for me in a coach below. 

My astonishment and agitation were so great that I 



suffered myself to be led away without attempting to re- 
sist or to reply. My brother was awaiting me, as they 
had said. They put me into the coach beside him, and the 
coachman, who had received his orders, drove us rapidly 
toward St. Denis. My brother embraced me affection- 
ately, but did not speak to me ; so that I had all the leis- 
ure I required to ponder over my misfortune. 

It seemed to me, at first, so wrapped in obscurity that I 
could not see my way even to a plausible conjecture to ac- 
count for it. I had been cruelly betrayed — but by whom ? 
Tiberge Avas the first person who occurred to my mind. 
‘‘Traitor!” I exclaimed to myself, “your life shall an- 
swer for this, if my suspicions prove correct I ” However, 


THE STORY OF MANO'N LESCAUT. 


47 


I reflected that he did not know where I had been living-, 
and that consequently they could not have obtained the 
information from Mm. 

As for accusing- Manon, my heart refused to be guilty 
of such a suspicion. The unaccountable sadness under 
which I had seen her laboring, her tears, the tender kiss 
which she had given me as she withdrew, all these, in- 
deed, were enigmas which I found it hard to unriddle; 
but my impulse was to interpret them as arising from 
a presentiment of our common misfortune; and, in the 



midst of my despair at the untoward event which had 
torn me from her side, I had the credulity to imagine that 
she was even more to be pitied than myself. 

The result of my meditations was the conviction that I 
had been seen in the streets of Paris by some acquaintance 
who had informed my father of the fact. This thought 
consoled me. I reckoned upon escaping with no worse 
consequences than a severe upbraiding, or, possibly, some 
disagreeable punishment for my rebellion against the pa- 
ternal authority. I resolved to endure them patiently, 
and to promise whatever might be required of me, in order 
to facilitate my speedy return to Paris, so that I could 
restore life and happiness to my beloved Manon. 


CHAPTER IV. 


We soon reached St. Denis. My brother, surprised at 
my silence, and supposing it to he due to fear on my part, 
endeavored to console me by assuring me that I had noth- 
ing to apprehend from my father’s severity, provided that 
I was disposed to return submissively to the path of duty 
and to show myself worthy of his affection for me. He 
made me pass the night at St. Denis, taking the precau- 
tion of having the three lackeys sleep in the same room 
with me. 

One thing was a cause of no slight distress to me ; and 
this was to find myself in the same hostelry at which I 
had stopped with Manon on our way from Amiens to 
Paris. The landlord and servants recognized me, and at 
once divined the truth of my story. I overheard the 
landlord saying : 

Ah ! That is the fine young gentleman who passed 
this way, some six weeks hence, with the lass whom he 
loved so dearly — as well he might, for a pretty lass she 
was ! Poor youngsters. How they fondled one another ! 
Egad ! ’Tis a pity to have separated them ! ” 

I pretended to hear nothing, and showed myself as little 
as possible. 

My brother had a double chaise ready at St. Denis, and 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT, 


49 


hi this we set off early in the morning', arriving home the 
following evening. He saw my father before I did, in 
order to predispose him in my favor by telling him how 
unresistingly I had allowed myself to be brought home ; 
the result being that I was received with less severity 
than I had looked for. My father contented himself with 
rebuking me in a general way for the breach of duty of 
which I had been guilty in absenting myself without his 
permission. As far as my mistress was concerned, he 
told me that I had richly merited what had just happened 
to me for my folly in abandoning myself to a woman of 



whom I knew absolutely nothing ; that he had entertained 
a better opinion of my prudence, but that he was in hopes 
that this little adventure would teach me greater wisdom. 

I received these admonitions only in the sense which ac- 
corded with my own ideas. I thanked my father for his 
kindness in pardoning me, and I promised him to conduct 
myself in future with more obedience and propriety. In 
my secret heart I was full of exultation; for, from the 
course which things were taking, I felt little doubt but 
that I should find a chance to slip away from home, even 
before the night had passed. 

We sat down to supper, and I was rallied on my con- 
quest at Amiens and my flight with that constant mis- 


50 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


tress of mine. I submitted to this banter with good 
grace. I was even delighted at being permitted to talk 
of the subject which occupied my thoughts unceasingly. 
But a casual remark of 1113^ father’s suddenly riveted my 
attention. He made some allusion to perfid^^ and to the 
far from disinterested services rendered him by M. de 

B . I was thunderstruck on hearing him utter this 

name, and begged him humbly to explain himself more 
fully. He turned to my brother and asked him if he 
had not told me the whole story. My brother replied 
that I had seemed to him so little disturbed in mind dur- 



ing our journey that he had not considered me in need of 
that remedy to cure me of my folly. Observing that my 
father was hesitating whether or not to complete his ex- 
planations, I implored him so earnestly to do so, that he 
satisfied me— or, rather, he tortured me cruelly by the 
relation of the following abominable story. 

To begin with, he asked me whether I had throughout 
been simple enough to suppose that my mistress loved me. 
I told him unflinchingly that I was so sure of it that noth- 
ing could excite in me the least distrust on that point. 

Ha ! ha ! ha ! ” he exclaimed, laughing heartily ; this 
is excellent! You are a pretty dupe I Your fine senti- 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


51 


ments are vastly to your credit, on my word ! ’Twill 
be a great pity, my poor Chevalier, to force you to join 
the Order of Malta, since you are so well fitted to make a 
husband of patient and accommodating disposition.” He 
indulged in a long succession of similar sneers at wli^t he 
called my folly and credulity. 

At last, seeing that I remained silent, he went on to say 
that, according to the closest calculation he could make of 
the time since my departure from Amiens, Manon had 
loved me for about twelve days; “ for,” added he, ‘‘you 
left Amiens, as I reckon, on the 28th of last month ; we 
are now at the 29th of the present month ; it is eleven 



days since Monsieur de B wrote to me. I will suppose 

that eight days were necessary for him to establish a close 
intimacy with your mistress. Thus, subtracting eleven 
and eight from the thirty-one days which there are between 
the 28th of one month and the 29th of the next, there re- 
main twelve, or a fraction more or less ! ” 

At this there were renewed peals of laughter. I listened 
with a pang of such acute agony at my heart that I began 
to fear it would overmaster me before this sad comedy 
were at an end. 

“ You must know, then,” resumed my father, “ as you 

do not seem to be aware of it, that Monsieur de B has 

won the heart of your inamorata, for he is simply trifling 


52 THE STORY OF 3IAN0N LESCAUT. 

with me in pretending that his motive in taking her from 
you was a disinterested desire to serve me. It is scarcely 
from a man of his stamp that one looks for such lofty sen- 
timents, especially when, as it happens, he is a complete 
stranger to me. ' He learned from her that you were my 
son, and, wishing to rid himself of your inconvenient pres- 
ence, he wrote and informed me of your whereabouts and 
of the life of irregularity you were leading, giving me to 
understand, at the same time, that forcible means would 
he necessary to secure you. He offered his assistance in 
finding an easy way to lay hands on you ; and it was under 



his directions, and those of your mistress herself, that your 
brother succeeded in catching you at a moment when you 
were off your guard. Noiv let us hear you congratulate 
yourself on the duration of your triumph as a lover ! You 
know how to vanquish rapidly enough, Chevalier, hut not 
how to maintain your conquests.” 

I could listen no longer to words like these, every one of 
which had pierced me to the heart. Rising from the table, 
I endeavored to leave the room, hut I had scarcely taken 
four steps when I fell to the floor in a deep swoon. Prompt 
assistance was rendered me and brought me hack to con- 
sciousness, but I opened my eyes only to burst into a tor- 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


53 


rent of tears, and my lips only to give utterance to the 
most piteous and heart-rending moans. 

M3' father, who always loved me tenderly, devoted him- 
self with all the force of his affection to the task of consol- 
ing me. I listened to him, hut his words fell meaningless 
on my ears. Throwing myself at his feet, I clasped my 
hands in entreaty, and besought him to let me return to 

Paris that I might seek out B and revenge myself on 

him at the point of the sword. 

“ No, no ! ” I cried ; ‘Mie has not won Manon’s heart ! 
He has used violence toward her ; he has seduced her by 



some unholy charm or drug — aye, even, perchance, bru- 
tally violated her ! Manon loves me ; ah ! do I not know 
it well ? He must have menaced her, dagger in hand, to 
force her to desert me. What is there that he would not 
have done to tear so sweet a mistress from my arms ? 
Can it be possible, just Heaven ! that Manon has betrayed 
— has ceased to love me ? ” 

As I repeatedly declared m3^ intention of returning to 
Paris forthwith, and started to my feet again and again 
with that purpose in view, my father became convinced 
that, as long as my present transports of grief continued, 
nothing that he could sa3^ would have any effect in pre- 


54 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


venting* me. He therefore made me follow him to a room 
in the upper part of the house, where he left me in charge 
of two servants, whom he ordered not to let me out of their 
sight. 

I was in a state of mind bordering upon frenzy. Gladly 
would I have given my life a thousand times over in ex- 
change for one short quarter of an hour in Paris ; hut 1 
realized that, after having declared my intentions so 
openly, I should not readily he permitted to escape from 
my room. 

I looked out of the windows, and calculated their height 
from the ground. Seeing no possibility of regaining my 
liberty in that way, I appealed to the two servants in my 
most persuasive tones, promising — nay, vowing solemnly 
to make their fortunes some day, if they would connive at 
my escape. I entreated, I wheedled, I threatened them 
— hut this attempt was as vain as the other. At last, 
losing all hope, I resolved to die, and threw myself upon 
the bed with the determination that I would never leave 
it alive. I spent that night and the following day in this 
condition. I refused the food that was brought me the 
next day. My father came to see me in the afternoon. 
He was good enoqgh to soothe my sufferings by consola- 
tions of the gentlest kind. He commanded me so im- 
peratively to take some food that I yielded, out of respect 
to his orders. 

Several days went by, during which I ate nothing save 
in his presence and in obedience to his wishes. He con- 
tinued to press upon my consideration every argument 
calculated to recall me to my senses and to inspire me 
with contempt for my faithless Manon. I certainly had 
lost all esteem for her ; what esteem could I retain for the 
most fickle and perfidious of beings ? But her image — the 
fair features which I bore imprinted on my inmost heart 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


55 


were not yet effaced. My own feeling-s were clear to me. 
‘‘I may die/’ I said; ‘‘I ought to die, in truth, after so 
much shame and anguish; but, though I suffered a 
thousand deaths, I should still he unable to forget you, 
ungrateful Manon ! ” 

My father was surprised to see me continue thus deeply 
affected. He knew that I cherished principles of honor, 
and, being certain that Manon ’s treachery must have 
made me despise her, he arrived at the conclusion that my 
constancy was due less to my passion for her in particular 
than to a general fondness for women. He became so 



wedded to this view that, consulting only his tender affec- 
tion for me, he came one day and broached it to me. 
“ Chevalier,” he said to me, “it has hitherto been my in- 
tention that you should wear the Cross of the Order of 
Malta, but I see that your inclinations do not lie in that 
direction. You have a taste for pretty women. Well, I 
am willing to find you a wife to your liking. Tell me 
frankly your ideas on the subject.” 

I answered him that all women were alike to me now, 
and that after the blow that had so lately fallen on me, I 
regarded them all Avith equal detestation. 

“I will find you one,” replied my father, with a smile. 


56 


THE STORY OF MANON LFSCAUT. 


who shall he like your Manon in all respects, save her 
inconstancy.” 

‘‘Ah,- sir ! ” said I, “as you love me, give me her, and 
her alone ! Rest assured, dear father, that it was not she 
who betrayed me ; she is incapable of such base and cruel 

treachery. It is that false-hearted B who is deceiving 

us — deceiving us all three. If you could but realize the 
tenderness and sincerity of her nature — if you could but 
know her — you would yourself love her ! ” 

“ Child ! ” retorted my father, “ how can you thus blind 
yourself, after all that I have told you of her ? It was she — 
she herself who gave you up into your brother’s hands. 
It were well for you to forget her very name, and, if you 
are wise, to profit by the indulgence I am showing you.” 

I recognized only too clearly that he was right ; and it 
was unreasoning impulse alone that made me thus side 
with my faithless mistress. 

“Alas ! ” I rejoined, after a moment’s silence, “ it is but 
too true that I am the victim of the most shameful treach- 
ery ! Yes,” I continued, weeping from very mortification, 
“yes, I am indeed nothing but a child — I see it plainly. 
It was an easy matter for them to cheat credulity like 
mine. But I know how to be revenged ! ” 

My father inquired what I intended to do. 

“I will go to Paris,” said I, “and set fire to B ’s 

house, that he and my faithless Manon may perish to- 
gether in the flames ! ” 

This outburst made my father laugh, and only re- 
sulted in my being watched with increased vigilance in my 
place of confinement. 

I there spent six whole months, during the first of 
which there was little change in my condition. My 
feelings may be summed up as a perpetual alternation 
between love and hatred, between hope and despair, ac- 


mt: STORY OP MANON LESCAVT 57 

cording- to the aspect under which Manon presented herself 
to my mind. At one moment I thought of her only as 
the loveliest of women, and pined to see her once more ; at 
another I saw in her nothing but a heartless and unfaithful 
mistress, and registered vow upon vow that I would seek 
her out only to punish her. 

I was furnished with books, and they served to restore 
my peace of mind to some degree. I read once more 
through all my favorite authors, and extended my attain- 
ments into fresli branches of learning. My eager delight 
in study was reawakened in me ; and you will see of what 



use it proved to me in the sequel. The new insight which 
I owed to love illuminated for me a number of passages in 
Horace and Virgil which had formerly been obscure to me. 
I composed an Amatory Commentary on the fourth book of 
the ^neid. I intend that it shall see the light some day, 
and I am not without hopes that it will be favorably 
received by the public. 

^^Alas! ” I would sigh, while writing it, ^Mt was for 
such a heart as mine that the constant Dido longed in 
vain ! 

Tiberge came to see me one day while I was still in con- 
finement. I was surprised at the affectionate warmth 
with which he greeted me; for I had not hitherto re- 


58 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT 


ceived any proofs of his regard for me that could lead me 
to think of it as anything more than an ordinary college 
friendship, such as naturally grows up between young fel- 
lows of about the same age. He had changed so greatly, 
and become so matured during the five or six months 
since I had last seen him, that his whole bearing and 
tone of conversation inspired me with respect. He talked 
to me more like a grave and prudent adviser than a 
companion of my school-days — deploring the follies into 
which I had strayed, and congratulating me upon my 
reformation, which he supposed to be almost complete. 



Finally he exhorted me to profit by this youthful error 
of mine b}^ letting it open my eyes to the vanity of 
pleasure. 

I gazed at him in amazement. Observing this, he said 
to me : 

“ My dear Chevalier, what I am now saying is simply the 
absolute truth, of which I have become firmly convinced 
after the most earnest examination. I had as great a 
leaning as yourself towards the pleasures of the senses ; 
but Heaven vouchsafed me at the same time a love of vir- 
tue. I employed my reason in a comparison of the fruits 
of the one with those of the other, and I Avas not long in 
discovering the contrast between them. Religion brought 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


59 


its aid to my own reflections, and I conceived for this 
world a deep and unspeakable contempt. Can you di- 
vine,” he added, what it is that still keeps me in it, and 
prevents my seeking- a life of solitude ? It is solely my 
warm attachment to you. I know your excellent qual- 
ities of heart and mind. There is no goodness of which 
you might not make yourself capable. The fatal fascina- 
tions of pleasure have led you astray. How grievous a 
loss to the cause of virtue ! Your flight from Amiens dis- 
tressed me so deeply, that I have not since enjoyed a mo- 



ment’s happiness. You may judge of this by the steps it 
led me to take.” 

He then told me how, on realizing that I had deceived 
him and fled with my mistress, he had set out on horse- 
back in my pursuit ; but, as I had the start of him by some 
four or five hours, it had been impossible for him to over- 
take me. He had reached St. Denis, however, only half an 
hour after I had left it. Being sure that I would remain 
in Paris, he had spent six weeks there in a vain endeavor 
to find me. He had gone to every place where he thought 
it likely that he might meet me, and, at last, had recog- 
nized my mistress one evening at the theatre, where the 
splendor of her toilet convinced him that she presented this 



60 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


prosperous appearance at the expense of some new lover. 
He had followed her coach home, and learned from a ser- 
vant that she was living* upon the liberality of M. B . 

“I did not stop at this,” he continued, ‘‘hut returned 
to the house the next day, to ascertain from her own lips 
what had become of you. She left me abruptly when I 
mentioned your name, and I was compelled to return to 
the country without any further enlightenment. There I 
heard all about your adventure, and the profound distress 
which it had caused you, but I thought it as well not to 
see you until I was assured of finding you more resigned.” 

“And you have seen Manon, then,” I responded, with a 
sigh. “Alas! you are more fortunate than I, who am 
doomed never to behold her again ! ” 

He reproached me for my sigh, which betrayed a linger- 
ing weakness for her ; and then fiattered me so adroitly 
on the goodness of my character and general disposition 
that, even during this first visit, he succeeded in inspiring 
me with an ardent desire to renounce, like him, all worldly 
pleasures, and to enter the Church. 

I was so enamoured of this idea that, when once more left 
to myself, I thought of nothing else. I recurred in mem- 
ory to the words of the Bishop of Amiens, who had given 
me the same advice, and to the bright augury which he 
had drawn of my success, should I decide to embrace that 
calling. Piety, too, was not without its share in infiuenc- 
ing me. “ I will lead,” thought I, “a holy and Christian 
life. I will devote myself to study and to religion, which 
will leave me no time to think of love and its dangerous 
pleasures. I will hold in contempt all that is admired by 
the common herd of mankind ; and, since I feel an inward 
assurance that my heart will desire nothing but what is 
worthy of its esteem, I shall have but few wishes, and as 
few cares.” 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


61 


I thereupon sketched, in anticipation, a plan of peaceful 
and solitary' life. In my fancy I saw a secluded cottage 
nestling among surrounding trees ; a brook of gently flow- 
ing water, murmuring as it ran hy the end of my garden ; 
a library of chosen volumes; a small circle of virtuous 
and intelligent friends ; and a daintily served table, over 
which temperance and frugality should reign. To all 
this I added a correspondence with some friend residing 
in Paris, who should keep me informed in the news of 
the day — less to gratify my curiosity than to supply me 
with a source of diversion in the contemplation of the 



happiness?’’ I exclaimed, ''and shall I not find in such 
a life the fulfilment of all my best dreams ? ” 

The project undeniably presented many attractions to 
a disposition like mine. But, when my virtuous scheme 
was all complete, I felt that there was still something 
more that my heart demanded; and that for the most 
inviting of retreats to leave nothing to be desired, it 
must be shared with Manon. 

However, as Tiberge continued to visit me frequently 
in furtherance of the purpose with which he had inspired 
me, I took occasion to broach the subject to my father. 



62 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


He assured me that it was his intention to leave his chil- 
dren free in the choice of their vocation, and that, what- 
ever disposition of my future I might wish to make, he 
merely reserved to himself the right of aiding me by his 
advice. He then gave me some that was full of wisdom, 
and that tended less to discourage me in my project than 
to enable me to follow it out with a due appreciation of 
the step I was taking. 


CHAPTER V 


The commencement of the scholastic year was close 
at hand, and I agreed with Tiherge that we should enter 
the Seminary of St. Sulpice together — he to complete his 
theological studies, and I to begin mine. His merits, which 
were well known to the Bishop of the Diocese, obtained 



for him a living of considerable value from that prelate, 
previous to our departure. 

My father, believing me to be quite cured of my passion, 
made no difficulty about letting me go. We duly arrived 
at Paris, where the ecclesiastical garb took the place of 
the Cross of Malta, and the title of the Abbe des Grieux 
that of Chevalier. I gave myself up to study with such 
application that I made remarkable progress within a few 
months. I devoted a portion of the night to it, and lost 
not a moment of the day. I gained so brilliant a reputa- 


64 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


tion, that I was already congratulated upon the honors 
which it was thought I was sure of obtaining, and, with- 
out my having solicited it, my name was entered on the 
list for a vacant benefice. Nor was piety neglected; I 
was full of fervor in my attention to all religious exer- 
cises. 

Tiberge was overjoyed at what he regarded as his own 
work, and I more than once saw him shedding tears of 
pure delight as he proudly contemplated what he called 
my conversion. 

That human resolutions should be liable to change has 



never been a matter of astonishment to me ; they are born 
of one passion — another passion may destroy them ; but 
when I reflect on the sacred nature of those which had led 
me to St. Sulpice, and on the inward joy which Heaven 
allowed me to taste in carrying them out, I am appalled 
at the ease with which I was able to break them. 

If it be true that divine aid at all times supplies a strength 
equal to that of the passions, then let it be explained to 
me by what fatal ascendancy one finds one’s self suddenly 
swept far from the path of duty without feeling one’s self 
capable of the least resistance and without being conscious 
of the least remorse ? I believed myself to be completely 
delivered from the frailties of love. It seemed to me that 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


65 


I would have preferred the perusal of a page of St. 
Augustine, or a quarter of an hour of Christian meditation, 
to all the pleasures of the senses ; without excepting those 
which could have been offered me by Manon. Yet one 
unhappy moment hurled me again over the precipice ; and 
my downfall was all the more irreparable that, finding 
myself all at once at a depth as profound as that from 
which I had risen, the new disorders into which I plunged 
dragged me still further toward the bottom of the abyss. 

I had passed nearly a year in Paris without making any 
inquiries as to the doings of Manon. It had cost me a se- 



vere struggle at first to do this violence to my feelings ; 
but the ever-present counsels of Tiberge, and my own re- 
flections, had enabled me to gain the victory over myself. 
The last few months had glided by so tranquilly that I 
believed myself to be on the point of forgetting forever 
that lovely but perfidious being. The time arrived when 
I had publicly to maintain a thesis in the School of The- 
ology. I extended invitations to several persons of dis- 
tinction to honor me by their presence. My name was thus 
spread abroad in all quarters of Paris ; it reached the ears 
of my faithless mistress. She did not feel certain in her 
recognition of it, under the title of Abbe ; but a lingering 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


curiosity, or, perhaps, some sense of penitence at having* 
betrayed me (which of the two sentiments I have never 
been able to determine), excited her interest in a name so 
like mine ; and she came to the Sorbonne with some other 
ladies. She was present during my presentation of my 
thesis, and doubtless had little difficulty in recognizing 
me. 

I was entirely unconscious of her presence, for, in these 
places, as you know, there are private boxes reserved for 
ladies, in which they are hidden from view behind lattice- 
work screens. I returned to St. Sulpice, covered with 
glory and overwhelmed with compliments. It was then 
six o’clock in the evening. A few minutes after my re- 
turn, I was informed that a lady desired to see me. I 
proceeded at once to the parlor, little suspecting the start- 
ling apparition that there awaited me. Manon ! It was 
she — but more radiantly beautiful than I had ever seen 
her. She was in her eighteenth year, and words fail me 
to describe her loveliness. There was a delicate grace, a 
sweetness, a fascination about her which might have been 
envied by the Goddess of Love herself. To my eyes she 
seemed a vision of enchantment. 

I was so overcome with emotion at seeing her that I 
could not utter a word ; and, unable to conjecture what 
the object of her visit could be, I stood trembling and with 
my eyes cast down, awaiting her explanation. For some 
minutes her embarrassment was as great as my own, but 
at last, finding that I did not break the silence, she cov- 
ered her face with her hands to hide the tears which were 
beginning to fall from her eyes, and, in a timid voice, said 
that she knew she deserved my hatred for her unfaithful- 
ness, but that if I had ever really loved her, I had been 
very cruel to allow two years to go by without making 
any effort to let her know what had become of me, and 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


67 


that it was still more cruel not to have a word to say 
to her now that I saw her standing- before me in such deep 
distress. 

I cannot describe the tumult of feelings in my heart as 
I listened to her. 

She sat down. I remained standing, half turned towards 
her, hut not daring to trust myself to look her full in the 
face. More than once I began a reply, hut my strength 
failed me before I could complete it, and the words died 



away upon my lips. At last, by a supreme effort, I cried 
in a tone of anguish : 

Manon ! Manon ! False and heartless girl ! ” 
Weeping bitterly, she told me once more that she had 
no intention of justifying her perfidious conduct. 

“ Then, what is your intention? ’’ I cried. 

“To die!’’ was her response; “unless you give me 
back your heart, for without it I cannot live ! ” 

“ Then ask my life, faithless girl I ” I said, giving way 
at last to the tears which I had been vainly striving to 
restrain ; “ ask me for my life, which is the only thing 
left me to sacrifice to you ; as for my heart, it has never 
ceased to be yours.” 


68 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


Scarcely had I uttered these last words when she sprang 
from her seat in a transport of joy. and ran to embrace 
me. She overwhelmed me with passionate caresses, and 
called me by all the fond names which love invents for the 
expression of its tenderest emotions. 

I responded hut languidly at first. . The transition from 
my recent condition of mental tranquillity to the tumultu- 
ous emotions which I now felt reviving in my breast was 
so great and so sudden that it positively appalled me. 
I shuddered like a man who finds himself benighted in 
the midst of some solitary plain ; everything around him 



seems to belong to a strange and unfamiliar order of 
things ; he is seized with a nameless horror, and regains 
his composure only after a prolonged examination of all 
his surroundings. 

We seated ourselves side by side, and I took her hands 
in mine. 

Ah, Manon ! ” said I, gazing at her sadly ; little did 
I foresee the base treachery with which you have repaid 
my love ! It was an easy thing for you to deceive a heart 
over which you reigned in absolute sovereignty, and which 
found all its happiness in obeying you and gratifying your 
every wish. Tell me, have you found any other so tender 


THE STORY OF 3IAN0N LESCAUT, 


69 


and so devoted ? No, no ! Nature casts but few in the 
^me mould as mine ! But tell me this, at least ; have you 
ever thoug-ht of that loving heart with regret ? How far 
am I to rely on this revival of affection which has brought 
you back to-day to console it? You are more beautiful 
than ever — that I see only too well ; but, in the name of 
all the pangs I have suffered for your sake, tell me, Manon, 
my lovely girl, whether you will be more constant also 
She replied with such pathetic expressions of her pen- 
itence, and pledged herself to constancy by such earnest 
vows and protestations, that I was moved beyond all words. 



‘‘Dearest Manon,” I said to her, with a profane ming- 
ling of the phrases of love and of theology, “ you are a 
divinity ; no created being could inspire such adoration as 
I feel for you ! My heart is swelling with triumph and 
beatitude. Let them talk of free-will as they please at 
St. Sulpice, ’tis but a chimera ! I am going to sacrifice 
fortune and reputation for your sake ; I foresee it plainly ; 
I read my destiny in your bright eyes ; but where is the 
sacrifice for which ^mur love would not richly compensate 
me ? I care nothing for the favors of fortune ; glory 
seems to me but an idle vapor ; all my projects of a life 
devoted to the service of the Church were vain imagin- 


70 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


ings. All joys, in short, save those which I hope to taste 
with you, are unworthy of a thoug’ht, since they could n^^t 
hold their own in my heart for a single moment against 
one glance from you ! ” 

While I promised to bury all her past faults in oblivion, 
I could not resist the desire to know how it was that she 

had yielded to the seductions of B . She told me that 

he had caught sight of her at her window, and, becoming 
deeply enamoured of her, had declared his passion in a bus- 
iness-like manner, eminently characteristic of a farmer- 
general ; that is to say, by sending her a letter in which 
he informed her that payment would be made in propor- 
tion to favors received. She had coquetted Avith him at 
first, but onl}^ in the hope of getting money enough from 
him to enable us to live in comfort. He had dazzled her 
by such magnificent promises, however, that her con- 
stancy had been gradually undermined; yet I might 
judge how great her compunction had been, she said, by 
the grief she had betrayed to me on the eve of our separa- 
tion. In spite of the luxury in which he had maintained 
her, she had never been happy with him ; not only be- 
cause she found him lacking in the delicacy of feeling 
and amiability of manner which characterized me, but 
also because, even in the midst of the pleasures which he 
continually provided for her, her inmost heart was filled 
with the memopy of my love and with remorse for her own 
infidelity. She spoke of Tiberge, and of the deep confusion 
into which his visit had thrown her. ‘‘Had a sword 
pierced my heart,’’ added she, “ the pang would have been 
less keen than the one I felt. I turned my back upon 
him, finding myself unable to bear his presence for even a 
moment.” 

She then went on to relate how she had learned of 
my residence in Paris, of my change of profession, and 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


71 


of 1113^ examination at the Sorhonne. So great had been 
her agitation, she assured m*e, during the disputation of 
my thesis, that she had found it difficult not merely to 
refrain from tears, hut from giving vent to the moans and 
cries which had more than once been on the point of break- 
ing from her lips. Finally, she told me that in order to 
hide her emotion she had been the last to leave the hall ; 
and that then, consulting only the impulse of her heart, 
she had yielded to her impetuous longing, and had come 
straight to the Seminary, with the resolution of there put- 
ting an end to her life unless she found me willing to forgive 



her. Where is the barbarian who would not have been 
moved by a penitence so deep and touching as this ? As 
for myself, I felt at that moment that I would have sacri- 
ficed all the bishoprics in Christendom for Manon’s sake. 
I asked her what new arrangement of our affairs she pro- 
posed that we should ad opt. She replied that our first con- 
cern must be to escape from the Seminary, and that we 
must postpone all deliberation as to our further movements 
until we had reached a place of greater safety. I yielded 
without demur to all her wishes. She stepped into her 
coach and drove off to await me at the corner of the street. 
I slipped out a few moments after, successfully eluding 


72 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


the vigilance of the porter at the door, and sprang into 
the coach beside her. We drove to a clothier’s shop in 
the Fripperie,^ where I donned once more a laced coat 
and sword. Manon paid for them, as I had not a penny 
about me, and, in her fear lest I might encounter some 
obstacle to my flight from St. Sulpice, she had opposed 
my returning to my room for a moment to get my money. 
My purse, moreover, was but scantily fllled, and the mu- 
nificence of B had made her rich enough to despise 



the small sum which she had persuaded me to leave 
behind. 

Before we left the clothier’s shop we held a consultation 
as to the course we should pursue. With a view of en- 
hancing in my eyes the completeness of her sacrifice of 

B for my sake, she determined to act without the least 

consideration for him. 

"‘I will leave him his furniture,” she said, ^‘for it be- 
longs to him ; but I shall take with me, as I am entitled 
to do, all the jewelry and about sixty thousand francs, 

*La Fripperie was the neighborhood in old Paris in which were 
situated the shops of the venders of cheap and second-hand clothing, 
and corresponded to the “Monmouth Street” of London.— Trans- 
lator. 


THE STORY OF 3IAN0N LESCAUT. 


73 


which I have received from him during the past two years. 
I have given him no rights over me,” she added; ‘‘so 
that we can safel^^ remain in Paris, and take a comfort- 
able house, where we will live happily together.” 

I reminded her that, though there might be no danger 
for her in this plan, there would be a great deal for me ; as 
I must inevitably be recognized sooner or later, and would 
be continually exposed to the recurrence of just such a mis- 
hap as had befallen me once already. She frankly owned 



that she would be very reluctant to leave Paris, and I was 
so anxious not to cross her wishes in any respect, that there 
was no risk which I would not gladly have faced in order 
to please her. However, we hit upon a sensible com- 
promise, which was to take a house in some village near 
Paris, from which we could readily reach town when 
pleasure or business called us there. We decided upon 
Chaillot, which is within easy distance of Paris. 

Manon then hastened to her house, and I proceeded to 
the smaller gate of the Tuileries Gardens to await her 
coming. She returned about an hour later, in a hackney- 
coach, accompanied by a maid-servant, and bringing with 
her two or three trunks in which were packed her clothes 
and everything of value which she possessed. 


74 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


We lost no time in getting to Chaillot, where we put up 
for the first night at the inn, in order to gain time to look 
about us for a house, or, at all events, for comfortable 
lodgings. We found an apartment to our liking the very 
next day. 


CHAPTER VI. 


For a time my happiness appeared to he established on 
the firmest of foundations. Manon was all gentleness and 
affection. She lavished such tender attentions upon me 
that I felt myself more than repaid for all the sufferings 
which I had undergone. 

As we had both of us gained some share of practical 
experience, we prudently discussed the extent of our re- 
sources. The sixty thousand francs, which formed the 
bulk of our little fortune, was not a sum that would last 
us all our lives ; especially as we were not inclined to put 
over-much restraint upon our expenditure. Economy was 
not Manon’s chief virtue, any more than it was my own. 

The arrangement I proposed to myself was as follows : 
‘‘ Sixty thousand francs,’’ as I said to her, ‘‘ought to be 
enough to support us for ten 3^ears. Two tjjousand crowns 
a year will be as much of an income as we shall need if 
we continue to live at Chaillot. We will adopt a genteel, 
but simple mode of life. Our only extravagances shall 
consist in keeping a coach, and visiting the theatres. We 
will lay dowm rules for ourselves. Thus, as you are fond 
of the Opera, we will go to hear it twice a week. As to 
cards we will limit ourselves at play so that our losses 
shall never exceed two pistoles.^ In the course of ten 
* Twenty francs. 


76 TBE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 

years some change must inevitably occur in my family 
affairs. My father is advanced in years, and may die ; 
in which case I shall come into property which will place 
us he^mnd the reach of any further anxiety.’’ 

I have been guilty of many worse follies in my life than 
this arrangement would have been, had we been wise 
enough to persevere in our strict adherence to* it; but 
our resolutions lasted barely more than a month. Manon 
was devoted to pleasure : I was devoted to her. Fresh 
occasions for extravagance were incessantly arising ; and 
— so far from grudging the money which she spent, often 
with lavish prodigality — I was the first to procure her 
everything which I thought likely to afford her gratifica- 
tion. 

Even our residence at Chaillot soon began to grow irk- 
some to her. Winter was drawing near; every one was 
returning to town, and the country was commencing to 
look deserted. She suggested that we should take a house 
in Paris. To this I refused my consent; but, in order 
to partially satisfy her, I told her that we might hii^e 
furnished apartments in town, where we could spend the 
night when we chanced to be very late in leaving the 
Assembly Ball, to which we were in the habit of going 
three or four times a week ; for the inconvenience of re- 
turning to Chaillot at so late an hour was the pretext she 
advanced for her wish to move away fi*om that village. 
Thus we indulged ourselves in two sets of lodgings : one 
in town and the other in the country. This change soon 
threw our affairs into the utmost confusion, by bringing 
about two occurrences which were fraught with ruinous 
consequences to us. 

Manon had a brother who was an officer of the Royal 
Guard. By an unlucky coincidence, his lodgings in Paris 
happened to be in the same street as our own. Seeing 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


71 


his sister at her window one mornings, he recognized her, 
and at once hurried to our apartment. He was a rough 
and churlish fellow, devoid of all honorable feeling. He 
burst into our room, cursing horribly; and, knowing 
something of his sister’s adventures, proceeded to load 
her with reproaches and abuse. I had gone out a mo- 
ment before, which was probably a fortunate circumstance 
for one or the other of us, as an insult was the last thing 
I was disposed to tolerate. 

I did not return home until after he had left, and then 



Manon’s air of dejection led me to suspect that something 
unusual had occurred. I drew from her an account of the 
painful sbene through which she had just passed, and of 
her brother’s brutal threats. So unmeasured was my in- 
dignation that I should at once have hastened after him to 
chastise him as he deserved, had she not restrained me by 
her tearful appeals. While we were talking the matter 
over, the guardsman re-entered the room in which we 
were sitting, without waiting to be announced. Had I 
known who he was, I should not have received him as 
civilly as I did ; but, before I had time to inquire, he had 
greeted us with an air of cheerful self-assurance, and was 
rapidly telling Manon that he had come to apologize to her 


78 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


for his violence. He had, he explained, been under the 
impression that she was leading a dissolute life, and this 
idea had aroused his indignation ; but, having made in- 
quiries about me from one of our servants, he had received 
such favorable accounts of me that they had made him 
desirous of being on good terms with us. Grotesque and 
offensive as was the recommendation thus obtained from 
one of my own lackeys, I acknowledged his intended com- 
pliment courteously, thinking that it would please Manon 
for me to do so. She appeared delighted, for her part. 



to find that he was willing to effect a reconciliation. 
We invited him to remain to dinner; and, before many 
minutes had elapsed, he had placed himself on a footing 
of such familiarity witli us that, hearing us speak of 
returning to Chaillot, he insisted on accompanying us 
thither. There was nothing for it but to give him a seat 
in our carriage. This was tantamount, on his part, to 
entering into possession ; for he soon fell into the way of 
finding so much pleasure in our society, that he made our 
house his own, and installed himself as virtual master of 
all that belonged to us. 

He called me his brother, and, under the pretext of fra- 
ternal intimacy, took upon himself to invite all his friends 


THE STORY OF 3IAN0N LESCAUT. 


79 


to our house and to entertain them there at our expense. 
He dressed in the most costly style, drawing- upon our 
purse for the means of doing so ; and even saddled us with 
all his debts. Out of consideration for Manon, I closed my 
eyes to this tyranny, and went so far as to feign ignorance 
of the fact that eveiy now and again he extorted considera- 
ble sums of money from her. It is true that when fortune 
favored him — for he was an ardent gamester — he was hon- 
orable enough to repay her part of what she had lent him. 
But our means were too limited to meet the demands’ of 



such reckless extravagance for any length of time, and I 
was on the point of expressing mj^self very emphatically 
to him on the subject, in order to rid ourselves of his im- 
portunities, when a most unfortunate accident saved me 
the trouble, by bringing in its train another calamity 
which impoverished us beyond all recovery. 

One night we had slept in Paris, as we were in the habit 
of doing very frequently. The maid-servant, who, on 
these occasions, was left alone at Chaillot, came to me in 
the morning with the intelligence that our house had 
taken fire during the night, and that the flames had been 
extinguished with great difficulty. I asked her whether 
any damage had been done to our furniture. She replied 
that the crowd of strangers who had come to give assist- 


80 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


ance had created so much confusion, that she could not 
answer for the safety of anything. I trembled for our 
money, which had been left there, locked up in a small 
chest; and hastened back to Chaillot at once. My 
promptitude was in vain ; the chest had already disap- 
peared ! 

In that bitter moment I realized that one need be no 
miser in order to love money. So keen was my anguish at 
our loss, that I thought it would cost me m^^ reason. I 
saw at one glance all the new miseries to which I was 



about to be exposed. Poverty was the least of them. I 
understood Marion’s nature ; I had already learned, only 
too well, that however faithful and devoted she might be 
while fortune smiled on me, she could not be trusted in 
adversity. She loved pleasure and luxury too much to 
sacrifice them for my sake. I shall lose her ! ” I cried 
to myself. '' Unhappy wretch that I am, must I again be 
robbed of all that I hold dear ? ” 

This thought threw me into such an agony of apprehen- 
sion that I hesitated for some moments as to whether it 
would not be best to seek a refuge from all my sorrows in 
death. I retained enough presence of mind, however, to 
desire, before I took that fatal step, to satisfy myself 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


81 


whether there were, indeed, no other resource left open 
to me, and, as I pondered. Providence mercifully inspired 
me with an idea which checked my despair. It would not 
be impossible, I thought, to conceal our loss from Manon ; 
and b^^ my own industry, or some stroke of good fortune, 
to gain sufficient means to maintain her comfortabl}" and 
prevent her feeling any sense of want. 

‘‘Did I not calculate,” said I, by way of consoling my- 
self, “that twenty thousand crowns would suffice for all 
our needs for the next ten years ? W ell, let us suppose 
that those ten years have gone by, and that none of the 
changes I had hoped for have occurred in my family ; what 
course should I adopt ? I am scarcely prepared to say, it 
is true ; but, what is there to prevent my doing now what- 
ever I should do then? Are there not many persons now 
living in Paris who have neither my intelligence nor 
my natural endowments, and who yet owe their support 
to their talents, such as they are ? Has not Providence,” 
I continued, as I reflected on the different conditions of life, 
“ordered things with profound wisdom? The majority 
of the great and rich are fools — that fact is obvious to 
every one who knows anything of society. Now, the jus- 
tice of this is admirable. If, to their riches, they added 
the possession of intelligence, they would be unduly 
happy, and the remainder of mankind unduly wretched. 
To the latter, therefore, are accorded superior physical 
and mental faculties as means of raising themselves above 
misery and poverty. Some of them gain a share of the 
wealth of the higher classes by ministering to their pleas- 
ures, and so making them their dupes. Others devote 
themselves to their instruction, and try to make worthy 
and upright citizens of them. It is rarely, in truth, that 
they succeed ; but that is not the object contemplated by 
Divine wisdom. What they do succeed in accomplishing 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT, 


is, to reap the fruit of their labors by living’ at the ex- 
pense of those whom they teach. Thus, from whatever 
point of view one looks at it, the folly of the rich and 
great forms an excellent source of revenue for humbler 
folk.’’ 

These reflections served to restore me to some degree of 
cheerfulness and composure. My first resolution was to 
go and consult M. Lescaut, Manon’s brother. He knew 
Paris thoroughly ; and only too many opportunities had 
been afforded me of observing that it was neither from 



his own property nor from the King’s pay that he drew 
the main part of his income. I had barely twenty pis- 
toles left — that amount having luckily been in my pocket. 
I showed him my purse, and told him of my misfortune 
and my fears, and then asked him whether, in his opinion, 
there remained any other alternative for me to choose 
than to die of starvation, or blow out my brains in de- 
spair. 

He replied that suicide was the refuge of fools ; while, 
as for starvation, many an able man found himself re- 
duced to it simply because he refused to make proper use 
of his talents. It lay with me to ascertain what I was 
capable of doing, but he assured me of his readiness to 
aid and advise me in whatever I might attempt. 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


83 


“ All this is very vag-ue, M. Lescaut,” said I. ‘‘The 
necessities of my case would seem to demand a more im- 
mediate remedy ; what am I to tell Manon, for instance ? ” 
“ You need he under no anxiety about Manon, I should 
say,’’ was his repl3^ “ With her you have always the 
means of putting an end to your embarrassments when- 
ever you please. A girl such as she is ought to support 
us all three.” 

I was about to rebuke him as he deserved for this inso- 
lent suggestion, when he cut me short by going on to 



say that he would guarantee my having, before night, a 
thousand crowns, to be divided between us, if I would 
consent to be guided by his advice. He knew a nobleman, 
he continued, who was so liberal in all that concerned his 
pleasures, that he was sure he would think nothing of 
paying that amount to secure the favors of a girl like 
Manon. Here I stopped him. 

“I entertained a higher opinion of you than this,” I 
exclaimed. “I was under the impression that your 
motive in according me your friendship was based upon 
sentiments entirely opposed to those which you now 
profess.” 

He unblushingly avowed that he had been of this way 
of thinking from the first; and that his sister having 


84 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


once violated the laws of her sex, though in favor of a 
man for whom he had the warmest regard, he had become 
reconciled with her only in the hope of turning her mis- 
conduct to some account. 

It became very evident to me that we had so far been 
his dupes. Deep as was my disgust at his words, how- 
ever, the need in which I stood of his assistance forced me 
to reply, laughingly, that this proposal of his was a last 
resource which we must reserve for the direst extremity ; 
and to beg him to suggest some other course. He ad- 
vised that I should take advantage of m^^ youth and of the 



pleasing presence which nature had bestowed upon me, to 
form an intrigue with some elderly lady of fortune and 
liberality. 

I did not relish this project any better, involving, as it 
did, infidelity to Manon ; and I suggested gaming as the 
easiest and most appropriate expedient for one in my situ- 
ation. Gaming, he agreed, was certainly a resource ; but 
it demanded some initiation into its secrets. To undertake 
to play, simply, with the ordinary chances of success, would 
be the surest method of completing my ruin ; while to at- 
tempt, alone and unaided, to make use of those little de- 
vices which are employed by the skilful to correct the 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


85 


partialities of fortune, was a perilous business. There 
was, he admitted, a third alternative — that of joining the 
Fraternity ; but I was so young that he feared the honor- 
able body of Confederates would not consider me as yet 
possessed of the requisite qualifications for membership 
of the League. 

He promised me, however, to use his good offices with 
them on my behalf, and — with a generosity of which I did 
not think him capable — offered to let me have some money, 
should I find myself in pressing need of .it. The only favor 
I asked of him for the time being was to tell Manon noth- 
ing about my loss, nor about the subject of our conversa- 
tion. 


CHAPTER VII. 


I WAS, if anything, more ill at ease when I left Lescaut 
than I had been on going to see him. I even regretted 
that I had confided my secret to him. He had done noth- 
ing for me that I could not have obtained equally well 
without making the disclosure ; and I was in mortal dread 
lest he should break the promise I had exacted from him 
of divulging nothing to Manon. I had reason to appre- 
hend, moreover, from the sentiments which he had avowed, 
that he might decide to turn her to some profit — to use 
his own expression — by taking her from me, or, at any 
rate, by advising her to desert me and attach herself to a 
richer and more fortunate lover. 

This led me into a train of reflections which resulted 
only in torturing my mind and renewing the despair to 
which I had been a prey that morning. An idea which 
suggested itself to me more than once, was to write to my 
father, leading him to believe that I was again penitent 
and anxious to reform, and so to obtain some pecuniary 
assistance from him. But I had a very vivid recollection 
of the fact that, in spite of all his kindness, he had kept 
me a close prisoner for six months as a punishment for 
my first offence ; and I had little doubt that after such a 
scandal as must have been caused by my flight from St. 
Sulpice, he would treat me with much greater severity. 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


87 


At last, out of the chaos of my thoug-hts, there arose 
one which at once set my mind at rest ; and I wondered 
that it had not sooner occurred to me. This was, to ap- 
peal to m}^ friend Tiberge, on whose continued affection 
and sympathy I felt that I could always count. There is 
no higher tribute to virtue than the confidence with which 
we always turn to those whom we know to possess integ- 
rity of character. We feel that we rhn no risk ; if the3^ 
are not alwaj^s in a position to offer us actual assistance, 
we are sure, at least, of obtaining kindness and consider- 



ation at their hands. Our hearts, so carefully closed to 
the rest of our fellow-men, expand freely in their presence, 
just as a flower buds forth under the rays of the sun, 
from which it expects none hut kindly and genial influ- 
ences. 

It seemed to me that it was by the interposition of a 
protecting Providence that I had so opportunely^ remem- 
bered Tiberge. I resolved to And some way of seeing him 
before the day was ended; and, hastening hack to our 
lodgings, I wrote him a few lines, appointing a suitable 
place for an interview. I pledged him to silence and dis- 
cretion, as among the most valuable services he could 
render me in the existing condition of my affairs. 

The prospect of seeing him inspired me with a cheer- 



88 


THE STORY OF MANON LESOAUT. 


fulness which banished the traces of grief that Manon 
must otherwise have detected in my face. I alluded to our 
mishap at Chaillot as a trifle which need cause her no 
alarm ; and since, of all places in the world, she loved best 
to be in Paris, she did not disguise her delight when I told 
her that it would be advisable for us to remain there until 
some slight damage caused by the fire at Chaillot had 
been repaired. 

An hour afterwards I received an answer from Tiberge, 
promising to meet me at the place I had named. Full of 



impatience, I hastened to the spot. I was conscious, nev- 
ertheless, of a certain sense of shame in thus going to face 
a friend whose very presence could not but be a rebuke to 
my irregularities. Still, my belief in the largeness of his 
heart, and my devotion to Manon ’s interests, served to 
embolden me. 

I had asked him to meet me in the garden of the Palais 
Royal, and found him awaiting me there. No sooner did 
he see me than he ran forward to embrace me. For a 
long time he held me clasped in his arms, and I felt my 
face moistened by his tears. I told him that it was with 
feelings of shame and embarrassment that I had sought 
his presence, and that my heart was filled with a keen 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


89 


sense of my own ingratitude. '' Before all else,” said I, 
“ let me conjure you to tell me whether I may still regard 
you as my friend, after having so justly merited the loss 
of your affection and esteem ? ” 

He replied in a tone of the utmost tenderness that noth- 
ing could make him renounce that title ; that my very 
misfortunes, and — if I would permit him to say so — tlie 
errors and immorality of my conduct, had increased his 
affection for me ; but that it was an affection mingled with 
the deepest pain — such as we feel for a beloved one whom 



we see tottering on the brink of ruin without being able to 
succor him. 

We seated ourselves upon a bench. 

Alas ! ” I said to him, with a sigh that rose from the 
bottom of my heart : Your compassion for me must in- 
deed be measureless, my dear Tiberge, if you can assure 
me that it is equal to the misery I feel ! I blush to lay it 
bare before you ; for I confess that its cause is not alto- 
gether a glorious one ; but its results are so sad that, even 
did you love me less than you do, you could not but be 
moved by them.” 

He begged me, as a proof of my friendship, to tell him 
unreservedly all that had happened to me since my flight 
from St. Sulpice. I complied, and, so far from deviat- 


90 


THE STORY OF MANON LESGAUT. 


ing in any respect from the truth, or g'lossing* over 1113^ 
faults with a view to making" them appear more excusable, 
I dwelt upon m^^ passion with all the vehemence with which 
it inspired me. I described it to him as one of those special 
fatalities which single out their unhappy victim for in- 
evitable ruin, and against which it is as impossible for 
Virtue to struggle successfully as it is for Wisdom to 
foresee their coming. 

I drew a vivid picture of my mental agitations, of my 
fears, and of the despair which had taken possession 
of me two hours before I saw him ; as well as of that in 
which I should again be plunged if I were abandoned by 
my friends as pitilessly as I had been b^^ fortune. In 
short, I so touched good Tiberge’s kind heart, that I saw 
he was suffering as much out of s^^mpathy with me as I 
was from the sense of my own troubles. 

He embraced me again and again, and exhorted me to 
take courage and be consoled. As he assumed all the 
while, however, that I must part from Manon, I gave 
him distinctly to understand that the very prospect of 
such a separation was what I regarded as the greatest 
of my misfortunes ; and that I was prepared to suffer the 
worst extremes of misery — aye, death in its cruelest form 
— before I would submit to a remed^^ more intolerable 
than all my sorrows combined. 

‘‘ Let me understand ^mu, then,” he said. What help 
can I give you if 3^ou rebel against all m^^ proposals ? ” 

I dared not confess that what I w^anted from him was 
pecuniary aid. He comprehended at last that such was 
the case, however ; and, after telling me that he thought 
he saw my meaning, he sat for some time buried in reflec- 
tion, as though he were carefully weighing his decision. 

‘‘Do not imagine,” he resumed before long, “that my 
hesitation arises from any diminution of the warmth of 


THE STORY OF MAN OH LESCAUT 


91 


my friendship and affection. But to what an alternative 
do you reduce me, if I must either refuse you the only 
aid that you will accept, or else violate my sense of duty 
in granting* it to you ! For would it not be taking part 
in your immorality were I to supply you with the means 
of persisting in it? However,’’ he continued, after a 
moment’s thought, I suppose it may he that the state 
of desperation into which poverty has driven you scarce- 
ly leaves you free to choose the better course. Calmness 
of mind is essential for the appreciation of wisdom and 



truth. I will find a way of letting you have some money. 
Allow me, my dear Chevalier,” he added, pressing my 
hand, to attach only this one condition to my doing so : 
that you tell me where you are living, and give me leave 
at any rate to use my best endeavors to bring you hack 
to the path of virtue, which I know you love, and from 
which you are led astray only by the violence of 3’our 
passions.” 

I gave m}^ willing consent to all that he desired, and 
begged him to commiserate me on the malignity of fate 
which allowed me to profit so little by the counsels of so 
virtuous a friend. 

He then took me. at once to a banker of his acquaint- 
ance, who advanced me one hundred pistoles on his note 


92 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


of hand; for Tiherge was anything but well supplied 
with ready money. I have already said that he was 
not a rich man. His living brought him in a thousand 
crowns, but as this was the first year of his incumbency 
he had not as yet received any of the revenue from it ; 
and it was on his prospective emoluments that he made 
me this advance. 

I appreciated his generosity to the full, and was so 
deeply affected by it as to deplore the blindness of a fatal 
love, which forced me to violate all the dictates of duty. 
For a few brief moments Virtue gathered sufficient 



strength in my heart to rebel against the tyranny of 
my passion ; and I realized, at least during that instant 
of light, the shame and indignity of the fetters by which 
I was bound. But the struggle was a feeble one, and of 
short duration. The sight of Manon would have made 
me fling myself down from heaven itself; and I was 
amazed to think, when I found myself once more at her 
side, that I had been capable for one moment of regard- 
ing as shameful so justifiable an affection for so lovely 
an object. 

Manon ’s character was a singular one. Never had a 
girl less attachment to money than she ; yet she could 
not know a moment’s peace when confronted by the fear 


THE STORV OF MANON LESCAUT. 


93 


of being in want of it. Pleasure and diversion were ne- 
cessities to her. She would never have cared to possess 
a penny, if enjoyments could have been obtained without 
spending one. She did not so much as concern herself to 
inquire into the extent of our resources, provided she 
could pass the day agreeably ; so that, as she was nei- 
ther excessively devoted to the card-table, nor capable of 
being dazzled by the ostentation of gross extravagance, 
nothing was easier than to satisfy her by providing her 
day by day with amusements to her taste. 

But it was so much a matter of necessity with her to be 



thus engrossed in pleasure that there was no counting, 
without this, upon the turns of her humor and her incli- 
nations. Although she loved me tenderly, and I alone, 
as she was eager to admit, could make her taste in all 
their sweetness the delights of love, I was yet almost con- 
vinced that her affection would not hold its own in face of 
apprehensions of a certain kind. She would have pre- 
ferred me to all the world, as long as I was in possession 
of a fair fortune ; but I had no doubt whatever but that 

she would desert me for some new B should I have 

nothing left to offer her but constancy and fidelity. 

I resolved, therefore, to regulate my personal expenses 
so carefully that I should always be in a position to sup- 


94 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


ply the money for hers, and to foreg-o any necessities of 
my own rather than limit her even in superfluities. The 
coach gave me more anxiety than anything else, for there 
did not seem to he any likelihood of our being able to keep 
the horses and coachman. I confided my uneasiness on 
this point to M. Lescaut. I had not concealed from him 
the fact that I had received a hundred pistoles from a 
friend of mine. He told me again that if I felt disposed 
to try the chances of the gaming-table, he was not with- 
out hopes that, by sacrificing with a good grace a hun- 



dred francs or so in treating the members of the frater- 
nity, I might, on his recomihendation, be admitted into 
the League of the Chevaliers Industrie. Repugnant 
as the idea of cheating was to me, I suffered myself to 
be overruled by cruel necessity. 

M. Lescaut introduced me that very evening as a rela- 
tive of his own. He added that I was the more eager to 
succeed from the fact that I stood in need of the greatest 
favors Dame Fortune could bestow. In order to show 
them, however, that my straits were not those of a pau- 
per, he told them that it was my intention to treat them 
to supper. 

The offer was accepted, and I regaled them in princely 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT 


95 


style. For some time the^^ talked of nothing* but my 
advantages of person and of manner. It was generally 
agreed that there was every promise of my success, as 
there was something about my face and air that savored 
of the mail of honor, and that would prevent any one’s 
suspecting me of unfair play. Finally, they expressed 
their thanks to M. Lescaut for having made the acquisi- 
tion of a novice of my merits for the Order, and appoint- 
ed one of the Chevaliers to devote several days to giving 
me the requisite instructions. 

The principal theatre of my exploits was to be the 
Hotel de Transilvanie, where there was a faro table in 
one saloon, and various other games of cards or of dice 
in the gallery.* This gaming-house was kept for the 

* For a full appreciation of these allusions to gaming and its cus- 
toms at the time in which the story of “ Manon Lescaut” is laid, 
the reader must have some acquaintance with the peculiar stat^of 
society then existing, and the open toleration during the reigns of 
Louis XIV. and XV. of gambling-houses from which many of the 
nobility, and, in some cases, the Government itself, drew consider- 
able revenues. The following quotations from Robert Houdin’s re- 
markable book, “ The Tricks of the Greeks Unveiled,” may not be 
inappropriate in this connection : 

“The most powerful cause of the increasing numbers of sharpers 
in Paris was the opening of the public salons known as the Hotels 
of Greves and of Soissons. It produced a perfect revolution among 
the members of the light-fingered fraternity, who had heretofore 
exercised their profession in secluded places, their operations being, 
for the most part, simply and clumsily performed. Now, however, 
the keenest of them united for the formation of a League, and the 
invention of new devices whereby to appropriate the funds of the 
unwary ; and from their consultations resulted many combinations 
until then unknown. 

“Piquet, lansquenet, faro, and other popular games became 
actual gold-fields for the associated deceivers. Even roulette, a 
game invented especially for the public to play in all security, be- 
came subject to their machinations. . . . 


96 


THE STORY OF MANOh LESCAUT. 


profit of the Prince of R , who then resided at Clag- 

ny, and the majority of whose officers were members of 
our Society. 

To my shame he it said, I made rapid progress under 
the lessons of my instructor. I acquired special facility in 
making a false cut and in veering a card ; while, aided hy 
a pair of long ruffles, I shuffied and palmed with an adroit- 
ness that deceived even the watchful eyes of adepts, and 
enabled me to fleece many an unsuspecting player at my 
pleasure. My remarkable dexterity so hastened the prog- 
ress of my fortunes that within a few weeks I found my- 
self in possession of a considerable sum, even apart from 
the gains which I felt myself bound in honor to share with 
my confederates. 

I no longer feared, under these circumstances, to inform 
Manon of our loss at Chaillot ; but, in order to console her 
on breaking this unpleasant news to her, I hired a fur- 
nished house, in which we took up our abode with every 
appearance of affluence and security. 

During all this time Tiberge had not failed to pay me 
frequent visits. He was never done with his moralizing. 
Untiringly did he point out to me the wrong I was doing 
my conscience, my honor, and my fortunes. I received his 

“ The number of Greeks continued to increase, and included even 
courtiers and men of society, whose duty was to discover and en- 
snare new victims ; the efforts of the Greeks being especially direct- 
ed against five classes of individuals ; First, strangers lately arrived 
in the city ; second, litigants who had been successful in lawsuits ; 
third, unprofessional gamblers who were lucky at roulette ; fourth, 
sons of good families, heirs to property ; and fifth, clerks, cashiers, 
and other persons who had acquired control of any funds. 

“ This system of regular and preconcerted robbery realized im- 
mense profits, and the manoeuvres of the gamblers became so bold 
and scandalous that Louis XV. closed the salons of Greves and Sois- 
sons, and revived the old edicts against games of hazard, throughout 
his kingdom.” 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


97 


admonitions in a friendly spirit, and, thoug-h I was not in 
the least disposed to heed them, I took his zeal on my be- 
half in good part, knowing, as I did, the source from which 
it arose. Now and then I would banter him good-natured- 
ly, in Manon’s very presence, and would urge him not 
to be more scrupulous than many a bishop and othej* 
ecclesiastic who found no difficulty in reconciling a mistress 
and a benefice. Look there,” I would say to him, point- 
ing to the eyes of my own lady-love, ^^and tell me if there 
be any faults which so beautiful a cause would not jus- 
tify ? ” He did not lose patience, and, indeed, bore with 



me very far ; but when he saw that I was growing richer 
day by da^^ and had not onl}^ repaid him his hundred 
pistoles, but, having taken a new house and doubled my 
expenditure, was about to give myself up more completely 
than ever to pleasure, his whole tone and manner under- 
went a change. 

He upbraided me for my callousness, warned me of the 
penalties of Divine displeasure, and predicted some of the 
misfortunes that were not long in overtaking me. 

‘‘You cannot make me believe,” he said to me, “that 
the money which serves to maintain you in your immo- 
ralities comes to you in a legitimate way. You have 
acq[uired it wrongfully ; and even so will it be snatched 


98 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


from your grasp. The most terrible of all punishments 
God could inflict on you would be to leave you to enjoy 
it undisturbed. All my admonitions,” he added, ‘^have 
been wasted upon you ; and I foresee only too clearly that 
they are in danger of becoming irksome to you. Fare- 
well, therefore, weak and ungrateful friend ! May your 
guilty pleasures vanish like shadows ; may your good for- 
tune and your mone^^ be lost to you irretrievably ; and, as 
for yourself, may you be left, destitute and alone, to real- 
ize the vanity of those joys which have so madly infatuated 



you ! Then, and only then, will you find me ready to love 
and to aid you. For the time being, I break off all inter- 
course with you, in detestation of the life you are lead- 
ing ! ” 

This apostolic tirade he delivered to me in my own room, 
in Manon’s presence, and then rose to depart. I made an 
effort to detain him, but was checked by Manon, who said 
that he was a madman whom we were well rid of. 

His words, however, did not fail to leave some impres- 
sion upon me. I thus note the various occasions when I 
felt my heart revert toward rectitude, because it was to 
the memory of such moments that I afterwards owed 
much of the strength which supported me during the 
unhappiest hours of 1113^ life. 


CHAPTER VIII. 


The distress which this scene with Tiherge had caused 
me was soon dispelled by Manon’s caresses. We con- 
tinued to lead a life that was all made up of love and 
pleasure. With the increase of our wealth came redoubled 
affection. Venus and the Goddess of Fortune had no 
slaves happier or more loving than we. Why call this 
world an abode of misery, when it can offer the enjoyment 
of such exquisite delights as these ? Alas ! Because they 
have the drawback of passing away all too soon. What 
other felicity would mortals desire, if such joys as these 
were of a kind to last forever ? Ours shared the common 
fate, of being short-lived and bringing in their train the 
bitterest regrets. 

My gains at play had become so considerable that I was 
thinking of investing part of my money. My successes 
were no secret to our servants — being especially well 
known to my own valet and Manon’s maid, before both of 
whom we were in the habit of talking quite unreservedly 
and without any misgivings. The maid was a pretty girl, 
and my valet’s sweetheart. They had to deal with young 
and lenient employers, whom they supposed that they 
would have no difficulty in deceiving. They conceived the 
design of doing so, and carried it into effect with results 


100 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


SO disastrous to us that we were thrown into a plight 
from which we were never able to recover. 

We had supped one evening with M. Lescaut, and it was 
close upon midnight when we returned home. I called my 
valet; and Manon her maid, hut neither of them made their 
appearance. We were told that they had not been seen 
about the house since eight o’clock, and that they had gone 
out after having had some chests carried away, in obe- 
dience to orders which they said they had received from 
me. I had a presentiment of part of the truth, but I enter- 



tained no suspicions that were not exceeded by what I dis- 
covered upon entering my room. The lock on my closet- 
door had been forced, and my money, together with all my 
clothes, had been made away with. While I was pondering 
by myself over this misadventure, Manon ran in great dis- 
may to tell me that her apartment had been similarly plun- 
dered. So cruelly did I feel this blow that it was only by 
a supreme effort of self-control that I restrained myself 
from bursting into tears. The fear of imparting my own 
despair to Manon forced me to assume an air of indiffer- 
ence. I told her jestingly that I would revenge myself on 
some dupe at the Hotel de Transilvanie. She seemed to 
take our misfortune so much to heart, however, that her 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


101 


grief had far more effect in depressing me than my pre- 
tended cheerfulness had in preventing her from giving way 
to utter despondency. 

‘^We are ruined!’’ she cried, as the tears streamed 
from her eyes. In vain did I strive to console her by my 
caresses, for m^^ own tears betrayed my consternation and 
despair. We were, in sober truth, so completely beggared 
that not a shred was left us save what we had on our 
hacks. 

I decided to send at once for M. Lescaut. He advised 



me to go without delay to the Lieutenant of Police and 
the Provost-Marshal of Paris. I went, and, in going, I 
brought upon myself a stiir greater calamity. For not 
only was my own trouble and that to which I put these 
two officers of justice entirely barren of results, but I 
thus afforded Lescaut an opportunity of talking to his 
sister ; and he took advantage of my absence to inspire 
her with an atrocious design. He told her of a certain 

yj; Q M , an old voluptuary who paid for 

his pleasures with a lavish hand ; and so impressed her 
with the many advantages she would gain by earning his 
liberality, that— disturbed in mind as she was by our mis- 
fortune— she yielded a full assent to all his propositions. 


102 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


This most honorable barg-ain was struck before 1113^ return ; 
its actual fulfilment being postponed until the following 

day, when Lescaut should have apprised M. de G 

M of the arrangement. 

I found Lescaut waiting for me when I reached home, 
but Manon had retired to bed in her own room, leaving 
orders with her servant to tell me that, as she felt in 
need of rest, she hoped that I would allow her to pass 
the night alone. Lescaut left me, after offering me a few 
pistoles, which I accepted. It was nearly four o’clock 
when I went to bed ; and as even then I la^" for a long 
while revolving in my mind some method of retrieving 
my fortunes, it was so late when I fell asleep that I 
did not awake until between eleven and twelve o’clock. 
Rising at once, I hastened to inquire how Manon was 
feeling; and was informed that she had gone out an 
hour before with her brother, who had called for her in 
a hackney-coach. 

Although such an expedition with Lescaut struck me 
as m^^sterious, I forced m^^self to repress my suspicions, 
and whiled away some hours in reading. At last, unable 
any longer to master my disquietude, I strode rapidl}^ 
back and forth through our apartments, until, in Manon ’s 
room, I caught sight of a sealed letter l^fing on the table. 
It was in her writing, and addressed to me. I tore it open 
with a shudder of mortal dread, and read as follows : 

‘‘ I swear to ^mu, my dear Chevalier, that you are the 
idol of my heart, and that in all this world there is not 
another man whom I could ever love as I love ^mu. But 
do you not see, my poor dear soul, that in the plight to 
which we are now reduced, constancy is a foolish virtue ? 
Do you suppose that weak mortals can indulge in tender- 
ness while they lack bread to eat ? Hunger, I fear, would 


STORY OF MANO]^ LESCAVT. lOS 

lead me into some fatal mistake ; some fine day I should 
breathe my last when I thoug'ht to heave only a love-sigh. 
I adore you ; rest assured of that ; hut leave the manage- 
ment of our fortunes to me for awhile. Woe be to him who 
gets entangled in my me&hes ! for I seek only to bring 
wealth and happiness to my Chevalier. 

“ My brother will give you tidings of your Manon, and 
will tell you how she wept at the necessity of leaving 
you.” 

It would be difficult for me to describe my state of mind 
after the perusal of this letter ; for to this day I do not 



know in what category to place the feelings that then swept 
over me. It was one of those mental crises which stand 
out, separate and distinct, from all others in a man’s life, 
to which his previous experience supplies no parallel, and 
the very conception of which it is impossible to convey to 
other minds, as they — from the nature of the case — can 
have no clue to guide them to it. Nor is it easy to analyze 
them clearly to one’s self : for, being, as the^^ are, solitary 
instances of their kind, they can be brought into relation 
with nothing in the memory, and cannot even be compared 
with any known feeling. 

Of whatever nature my emotions may have been, how- 
ever, among them were certainly grief, vexation, jealousy, 


104 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


and shame. Happ^^ had I been if there had not mingled 
with them a love that was stronger than them all ! 

She loves me ! ” I cried ; “ I must fain believe it ; for 
how could she do otherwise, unless she were a veritable 
fiend ? What claims did man ever have upon a heart 
that I have not upon hers ? What more is there that I 
can do for her, after all that I have sacrificed for her 
sake ? Yet she abandons me, and thinks, ungrateful girl, 
to shield herself from my reproaches by declaring that she 
has not ceased to love me ! She pleads her dread of hun- 
ger ! God of Love, what grossness of sentiment ! How 



poor a return for the delicacy of my own ! Hunger ! 
Have I feared it ? I, who so willingly expose myself to its 
terrors for love of her, by renouncing my fortune and the 
comforts of my home ! I, who have foregone all but the 
very necessaries of life, that I might indulge her slightest 
whims and caprices ! She adores me, so she says. Did 
3m u adore me, heartless girl, I know from whom ^mu would 
have sought advice ! You would not have left me without 
at least bidding me farewell. It is I who can best sa^^ 
what cruel anguish there is in being separated from one 
whom we adore. Surel3", no one could be sane, and yet 
willingly incur it ! ” 

My lamentations were interrunted b,y a visitor whom 



THE STORY OF MAHOH LESCAUT 


105 


I little expected to see — none other than Lescaut him- 
self. 

“Villain!” I cried, g-rasping* my sword, “where is 
Manon ? What have you done with her ? ” 

This outburst alarmed him. He replied that if I re- 
ceived him in this fashion when he came to give me an ac- 
count of the greatest service he could have rendered me, he 
would take his leave, never to set foot in my house again. 
I ran to the door of the room and closed it carefull^^ 

“ Do not flatter yourself,” I said, confronting him, 
“that you will be able once more to make a dupe of me 



and impose upon my credulity with your fables 1 Either 
draw and defend yourself or restore Manon to me ! ” 

“Curse it, man,” he rejoined, “do not be so hasty. 
That is the very subject that brings me here. I have 
come to tell you of a stroke of good fortune which you 
little expect, and for which you will admit, perhaps, that 
you are under some obligation to me.” 

I desired him to enlighten me at once. He told me that 
Manon, being unable to bear the fear of poverty, and 
above all the idea of having to submit suddenly to the re- 
duction of our establishment, had begged him to procure 
her the acquaintance of Monsieur de G M , who 


106 


THE STORY OE MANON LESCAVT. 


had the name of being- a man of generosity. He was care- 
ful not to tell me that this had been at his advice, nor that 
he had paved the way before taking her. 

took her to see him this morning,’’ he continued, 
and the worthy man found her so attractive, that he at 
once invited her to accompany him to his country-house, 
where he has gone to spend a few days. I,” added Les- 
caut, quickly realizing how this might be turned to your 
advantage, gave him adroitly to understand that Manon 
had suffered considerable losses ; and I so spurred his gen- 
erosity that he made her a present of two hundred 
to begin with. I told him that this would do very well for 



the present j but that the future would bring many wants 
upon my sister; that she had, moreover, undertaken the 
care of a young brother who had been left on our hands 
by the death of our father and mother ; and that if he 
thought her worthy of his regard, he would not permit 
her to suffer through this poor child, whom she looked 
upon as a part of herself. This story did not fail to touch 
him. He promised to take a comfortable house for you 
and Manon ; for you, of course, are the poor little orphan 
brother. He agrees to furnish it suitably, and to allow 
you a round four himdred livres every month, which, if I 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


107 


count arig*ht, make four thousand eig*ht hundred 
livres a year. Before g*oing* to his country-seat, he left 
orders with his steward to look for a house, and to have it 
ready on his return. Then yomwill again see Manon, who 
hade me tell you that she sent you a thousand kisses, and 
assure you that she loves you more than ever.” 

I sat down, pondering over this curious dispensation of 
Fate. Filled with conflicting emotions, I was in a state 
of indecision so difficult to terminate that I remained for a 
long while without making any response to the numerous 
questions which Lescaut asked me in rapid succession. 
Once more, at that moment, did honor and virtue assert 
themselves and make me feel the stings of remorse. I 
sighed as my thoughts reverted to Amiens, to my home, 
to St. Sulpice, to all those spots where I had lived in 
blameless innocence. How vast was the gulf which sep- 
arated me from that state of happiness ! I saw it now 
only from afar, like a phantom vision, which still inspired 
me with yearning and regret, but which was too dim and 
unsubstantial to rouse me to effort. By what fatality,” 
I asked myself, ‘^have I become thus steeped in guilt? 
Love is an innocent passion ; how has it been transformed 
for me into a source of sin and misery ? Who was there to 
prevent my living peacefully and virtuously with Manon ? 
Why did I not wed her before claiming any favors from 
her love? My father, with his deep affection for me, 
would surely have consented to my doing so, had I but 
urged him with proper entreaties. Aye ! My father 
would have grown to love her himself, as a sweet girl, 
only too worthy of being his son’s wife. I should now be 
happy in Manon’s love, in my father’s affection, in the 
esteem of honorable men, in the blessings of fortune, and 
the serene tranquillity of a virtuous life. How melancholy 
a contrast does the reality present! Here am I called 


108 


THE STORY OE MANON LE8CAUT. 


upon to play a part so vile that I shudder to think of it ! 
What ! Must I then consent to share . . . Yet how 

can I hesitate, since Manon has so decreed, and since I 
must lose her unless I comply ? ” 

‘‘ M. Lescaut,^’ I exclaimed, closing" my eyes as if to shut 
out these torturing reflections, ‘Mf it has been your inten- 
tion to do me a service, I thank you. You might, indeed, 
have found a more honorable method ; but it is a settled 
thing, as I understand it. Let us, then, dismiss all other 
considerations but those of how we may best profit by 
your exertions, and carry your project into effect.” 



Lescaut — whom my indignation, followed by such long- 
continued silence, had considerably embarrassed — was de- 
lighted to see me come to a decision so totally opposed to 
the one which he had doubtless dreaded that I would 
adopt. He was anything but courageous, as I had subse- 
quently even better occasion to know. 

“ Yes, yes,” he hastened to reply ; I have done you a 
very good turn, and you will yet find that it is more to 
our advantage than you are disposed to believe.” 

We then consulted as to how we should disarm the sus- 
picions which Monsieur de G M might conceive as 

to the reality of our fraternal relationship when he found 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


109 


me taller and somewhat older than he probably expected. 
We could hit upon no better plan than for me to assume 
the manner of a countrified simpleton in his presence, 
while we led him to believe that I intended entering the 
Church, and was preparing myself for that career by daily 
attendance at college. 

We decided, also, that I should dress myself very shah- 
bilj^ on the first occasion that I was ailowed the honor of 
pa^ung my respects to him. He returned to town some 
three or four days after this ; and himself installed Manon 
in the house which his steward had punctually prepared 



for her reception. She at once let Lescaut know of her 
return ; and when he had brought me word of it, we went 
together to the house to see her. Her old gallant had 
already left her. 

Despite the resignation with which I had submitted to 
Man on’s wishes, I could not altogether repress the rebel- 
lious dissatisfaction in my heart on seeing her again. My 
manner towards her was sad and dejected. The joy of 
having her once more at my side did not entirely counter- 
balance my grief at her infidelity. Her delight at being 
with me again seemed, on the contrary, to be without 
alloy. Upon her reproaching me for my coldness toward 
her, the words Faithless and inconstant girl ! ” burst in- 


no 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT, 


voluntarily from my lips, accompanied by a bitter sigh. 
At first she rallied me on my folly ; but when she realized, 
from the sadness with which I continued to gaze at her, 
what pain it was costing me to reconcile myself to a change 
so opposed to my honor and my wishes, she withdrew alone 
to her dressing-room. Following her a moment afterwards, 
I found her sitting there, bathed in tears. I asked her why 
she was weeping. 

Can you ask ? ” was her reply. Do you suppose I 
care to live, if all that my life can accomplish now is to 
make you look sad-faced and grave ? You have been here 



for an hour, and not a single kiss have you given me yet, 
while you have been submitting to my caresses all this 
time with the majestic indifference of the Grand Turk in 
his seraglio.’’ 

Listen to me, Manon,” answered I, as I embraced her, 
‘'I cannot help letting you see that my heart is very, 
very heavy. I will say nothing at present about the ago- 
nies of fear into which you threw me by your unlooked-for 
flight ; nor about your cruelty in deserting me without a 
word of consolation, after spending the whole night away 
from my arms. The charm of your presence can make 
me forget all this, and more than this. But do you imag- 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


Ill 


ine that I can look forward without sig-hing*, aye, and 
weeping,” and, as I spoke, the tears rose to my eyes, “to 
the vile and unhappy life which you expect me to lead in 
this house ? I put aside all consideration of my honor and 
of 1113^ rank ; it is too late now for such feeble influences as 
tliese to enter into rivalr^^ with a love like mine. But can 
3’ou not understand how hitter it is for me to see that love 
so ill requited, nay, so cruell^^ used by an ungrateful and 
heartless mistress ? ” 

“ Stay ! ” she interrupted. “ Why torture me, dear Che- 
valier, with reproaches which, coming as they do from 
,you, pierce me to the ver^^ heart ? I see what it is that 
wounds your feelings. I had hoped, I own, that you 
would consent to my project of doing something towards 
retrieving our fortunes ; and it was out of consideration 
for 3mur delicate sense of honor that I began to put it into 
execution without consulting you. But I renounce it, 
now that I find you so strongly disapprove of it.” 

She added that all she asked of me was a little forbear- 
ance during the remainder of the day ; explaining that she 
had already received two hundred pistoles from her old 
lover, and that he had promised to bring her, that even- 
ing, a handsome necklace of pearls, and other jewels, as 
well as one half of the annual allowance he had agreed to 
make her. 

“ Only give me time,” she begged, “ to get his presents 
into my possession. I assure you, on my word of honor, 
that he will not be able to boast of having obtained any 
favors from me ; for as 3"et I have put him off until our 
return to town. He has, indeed, kissed my hand some 
thousands of times, and it is only right that he should 
pay for that pleasure. It will not be dear at five or six 
thousand francs, makiug the price proportionate to his 
wealth and age.” 


112 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


The resolution she had taken gave me far more pleasure 
than the prospect of gaining five thousand francs. I was 
encouraged to believe that my heart was not yet lost to 
all sense of honor, when I felt how deeply it rejoiced at 
escaping from infamy. But I was born for short-lived 
joys and lasting sorrows. Fortune rescued me from the 
brink of one precipice only to hurl me over another. 

When I had evinced my delight at her change of pur- 
pose by a shower of kisses, I told Manon that M. Lescaut 
must be informed of it, so that our measures might be 
taken in concert. He was at first inclined to meet it with 



some opposition ; but the mention of the four or five thou- 
sand livres of ready money to be gained soon won his 
cheerful assent to our views. It was accordingly arranged 
that we should all three be present at supper with M. de 

Gr M . Our object in this was two-fold. In the 

first place, we anticipated much diversion from the little 
comedy in which I was to play the part of Manon's school- 
boy brother; and, secondly, we should thus prevent 
the old rake from taking any undue liberties with my 
mistress, in the exercise of those rights which he would 
suppose himself to have acquired by paying so liberally in 
advance. 


_ THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 113 

Lescaut and I were to take our leave upon his g’oiug' 
up-stairs to the room in which he expected to pass the 
night, and Manon, instead of accompanying him, promised 
to slip out of the house and spend it with me. Lescaut 
undertook to have a coach at the door at the right mo- 
ment. 

Supper-time drew near, and M. de G M was not 

long in making his appearance. Lescaut remained in the 
parlor with his sister. The old man’s first proceeding was 
to present his inamorata with a necklace, bracelets, and 
ear-rings of pearls, worth at the very least a thousand 



crowns. He next counted out to her in bright louis d^or 
the sum of two thousand four hundred livres, which con- 
stituted one half of the promised annual allowance. He 
accompanied his presents with a number of courtly com- 
pliments in the old-school style of gallantry. 

Manon could not refuse him a few kisses ; they were the 
only title she acquired to the money he gave her. I was 
listening at the door and waiting for Lescaut to give me 
the signal to enter the room. He came and took me by 
the hand as soon as Manon had secured the money and 

the jewels, and leading me up to M. de G M , he 

bade me make him a bow. I made two or three, bowing 
almost to the ground each time. 


114 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


“You must excuse him, sir,” said Lescaut; “the 
youngster is quite a greenhorn, and very far, as you can 
perceive, from having Parisian manners ;*hut we hope that 
a little practice will give him some polish. You will have 
the honor,” added he, turning to me, “ of often seeing this 
gentleman here ; he sure you profit by so good an exam- 
ple.” 

The old gallant seemed pleased to see me. He patted 
me once or twice on the cheek, and told me that I was a 
fine lad, but that I must be on my guard in Paris, where 



young folk were ver^^ apt to be led into dissipation. Les- 
caut assured him that I was of so virtuous a disposition 
that I talked of nothing but of becoming a priest, and 
that my chief amusement consisted in building miniature 
chapels. 

“I think he is like Manon,” remarked the old gentle- 
man, raising my chin with his hand. 

I replied, with affected stupidity, “ That’s because we 
are of the same blood and bone, sir ; and, besides, I love 
my sister Manon just as if she were part of myself.” 

“Do you hear that?” he said to Lescaut. “He’s a 
bright lad, and it’s a pity that he has not seen enough of 
the world to give him a little better manner.” 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


115 


Oh, sir ! ” I answered, I have seen a great many of 
the world in our churches at home, and I dare say that I 
shall find some in Paris with no better wits than my 
own.’’ 

Come! ” he exclaimed, ‘^that’s an excellent sally for 
a country lad ! ” 

All our conversation during supper was of much the 
same kind. Manon, who was in the merriest of moods, 
came more than once within an ace of spoiling all by her 
uncontrollable outbursts of laughter. Before we left the 



table I found an opportunity of telling the old dupe his 
own story, not omitting even the sorry fate that was in store 
for him. Lescaut and Manon were on thorns while I was 
recounting it — especially when I drew his portrait to the 
life ; but his vanity prevented his recognizing himself in 
my description, and I gave it such an adroit turn as I 
concluded, that he was the first to declare it very droll. 

I have good reasons, as you will see, for dwelling at 
such length upon this ludicrous episode. 

As bed-time drew near he began to grow eloquent on 
the subject of his passion and his impatience. Lescaut 
and I thereupon took our leave, and he was shown to his 
room. Manon, finding some pretext for leaving it, ran to 


116 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


the door and joined us. The coach, which was waiting for 
us a few houses further down the street, drove up to re- 
ceive us, and we lost not an instant in leaving that quarter 
of the town behind us. 

Although I could not shut my eyes to the fact that this 
proceeding was a piece of downright rascality, I did not 
consider it by any means the most iniquitous that I had to 
reproach myself with. The money which I had won at 
play lay far heavier on my conscience. We profited as 
little by the one as by the other, however, and Heaven 
ordained that the less dishonorable of these two offences 
should be the more severely punished. 


CHAPTER IX. 


Monsieur de G M was not long in discovering 

that he had been duped. I do not know whether he took 
any steps to find us that very evening ; hut his influence 
w’as great enough to prevent his efforts to trace us from 
remaining long without result ; while we were imprudent 
enough on our side to trust too much to the vast extent of 
Paris and the distance of our quarter of it from that in 
which he resided. Not only did he obtain full information 
as to our whereabouts and our affairs for the time being, 
but he found out also who I was, the life I had been lead- 
ing in Paris, Manon’s former intrigue with B , and the 

way in which she had deceived him — in a word, all the 
scandalous portions of our history. 

He thereupon decided to have us arrested and treated 
less as criminals than as arrant libertines. We were still 
in bed when an Agent of Police entered our room, with 
half a dozen Guards. They first seized our, or rather, M. 

de G M ’s, money, and, having roughly compelled 

us to rise, led us to the door, where we found two coaches, 
into one of which poor Manon was forced without any ex- 
planation, and driven away, while I was taken in the other 
to St. Lazare. The despair which such a reverse of for- 


118 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


tune as this can cause is to be fully appreciated only by 
those who have undergone a similar experience. 

Our guards were so heartless as to deny me the privi- 
lege of embracing Manon, Or even of saying a word of 
farewell to her. For a long while I remained in ignorance 
of what had become of her. It was perhaps fortunate for 
me that I did not know it at first ; for so terrible a catas- 
trophe would have cost me my reason, probably my life. 

My hapless mistress was thus torn from me, and incar- 
cerated in a place too horrible for me to name. What a 



fate was this for a being w^hose incomparable loveliness 
would have placed her on the proudest throne on earth, if 
all men had seen her as I saw her and loved her as I 
loved ! ' She was not inhumanly treated there, but was 
imprisoned in a narrow cell, and condemned to perform an 
allotted task of work each day, as the requisite condition 
of obtaining an allowance of nauseous food. I did not learn 
these sad details until long afterwards, when I had myself 
undergone several months of severe and irksome penance. 

As my captors likewise refused to tell me where they 
were ordered to take me, I discovered what my fate was 
to be only when we reached the gates of St. Lazare. I 
would have welcomed death, at that moment, in prefer- 
ence to what I believed to be in store for me. I had ter- 
rible conceptions of the nature of this establishment. My 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


119 


dismay was increased when, on our entrance, the guards 
again searched my pockets, to satisfy themselves that no 
arms or other means of defence had been left about me. 

The Superior made his appearance before many minutes 
had elapsed, having been notified of my arrival. He 
greeted me very kindly. 

‘^Father,” I said to him, spare me any indignities. 
Rather than submit to a single one, I would die a hundred 
deaths. ’’ 

‘‘Be under no apprehension, sir,” he replied. “You 



have only to conduct yourself well, and we shall neither 
of us have any occasion to find fault with the other.” 

He requested me to follow him to an upper room, and I 
acquiesced without any attempt at resistance. The offi- 
cers of police accompanied us as far as the door, where the 
Superior gave them the signal to withdraw, and then 
entered with me. 

“ I am your prisoner, it seems,” said I. “Well, good 
Father, what do you intend to do with me ? ” 

He told me that he was very glad to hear me adopt a 
reasonable tone ; and went on to say that his duty would 
be to endeavor to inspire me with a taste for virtue and 
religion, and mine to profit by his exhortations and advice ; 
and' that if I would but respond— however little— to his 


120 


THE STORY OF MANOJV LESCAUT. 


effol’ts on my behalf, I should find nothing- but pleasure in 
my seclusion. 

Pleasure ! I exclaimed : ^‘Ah, Father, you little 

know what alone, in all this world, can give me pleas- 
ure ! ” 

‘‘ I do know,’’ he replied, but I hope that your inclina- 
tions will change.” 

I saw by this answer that he was acquainted with my 
adventures, and, perhaps, with my name. I begged him 
to enlighten me on this point ; and he then told me frankly 
that he had been informed of everything. 



This discovery was the crueilest punishment of all. I 
burst into a torrent of tears, and exhibited every sign of 
utter despair. Nothing could console me for the humilia- 
tion of thus becoming a by-word to all my acquaintances 
and the disgrace of my family. For eight whole days I 
remained in a state of the deepest dejection, unable to 
understand anything or think of anything but the stigma 
which now rested upon me. Not even the memory of 
Manon could add anything to the intensity of my grief : at 
least, it mingled with it only as a feeling which lay back 
of this new anguish ; and the dominant emotions in my 
breast were shame and mortification. The full force of 
these sentiments is not known to every one. The ordinary 



THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


121 


run of men are susceptible to the influence of onl3^ five or 
six passions, in the round of which the^^ pass their lives, 
and to which all their mental ag“itations may be reduced. 
Deprive them of love and hate, pleasure and pain, hope 
and fear, and they virtually cease to feel at all. But per- 
sons of finer temperament can be affected in a thousand 
var^dng* wa^’^s ; they would seem to be possessed of more 
than five senses, and to be capable of receivings the impres- 
sion of ideas and sensations that transcend the limitations 
of average human nature. And, conscious as they are of 
this superiority, which lifts them above the vulgar level. 



there is nothing of which they are so jealously tenacious. 
Hence it is that thej^ are so impatient of submitting to 
contempt and ridicule, and that shame is one of their most 
violent emotions. 

This sad advantage was mine at St. Lazare. So ex- 
cessive did my grief appear to the Superior, that his fear 
of its possible consequences led him to treat me with the 
utmost kindness and leniency. He came to see me two or 
three times a da^^ often taking me out with him for a 
walk in the garden ; and he poured forth his exhortations 
and pious admonitions with inexhaustible zeal. I listened 
to them meekly and even manifested some gratitude to- 
wards him ; which made him hopeful of my ultimate con- 
version. 


122 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


‘‘You have such a gentle and amiable disposition/’ he 
said to me one day, “that I cannot understand your hav- 
ing been guilty of the wickedness of which you are accused. 
Two things fill me with astonishment : one, how. With all 
your good qualities, you could have abandoned yourself to 
licentious excesses ; and the other, which strikes me as 
even more amazing, how you can give such willing atten- 
tion to my advice and teaching after having lived for sev- 
eral years in habitual immorality. If it be the result of 
repentance, you are a signal example of the mercy of 
Heaven ; if it be from natural goodness of heart, you are 
at any rate possessed of an excellent basis of character, 
which leads me to hope that we shall not be under the 
necessity of keeping you here very long in order to reclaim 
you to a virtuous and exemplary life.” 

1 was delighted beyond measure to find that he enter- 
tained such a good opinion of me, and resolved to enhance 
it by giving him every reason to be satisfied with my con- 
duct ; for I felt convinced that this was the surest method 
of shortening the term of my imprisonment. I asked him 
for some books. He was surprised, on allowing me to 
choose for myself what I would read, to see me select 
some authors of a serious character. I pretended to apply 
myself to study with the utmost ardor, and lost no oppor- 
tunity of giving him the impression that the change he 
desired to see in me was actually taking place. 

It was only an outward one, however. Let me confess 
with shame that at St. Lazare I played the part of a 
hypocrite. When alone, instead of stud^ung, I spent my 
time in bewailing my hard fate. I cursed my prison, and 
the tyrann}^ which kept me there. No sooner had I gained 
some respite from the dejection into w^hich my disgrace 
had thrown me than I once more fell a victim to the 
torments of Love. 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


12B 


Manon’s absence, my uncertainty as to her fate, and 
fear that I should never see her ag-ain — such were the sole 
subjects of my melancholy meditations. I pictured her in 

the arms of G M ; for that had been my first 

thought; and, so far from imagining that he had sub- 
jected her to the same ti*eatment as myself, I was fully 
persuaded that he had had me put out of the way only to 
gain undisturbed possession of her. 

Thus did I pass day after day and night after night, 
every one of which seemed to me of interminable length. 
My only hope lay in the success of my hypocrisy. With 



anxious care did I scan the Superior’s face and note his 
every word, to satisfy myself as to what opinion he was 
forming of me ; while I made it my constant study to 
please him, for was he not the arbiter of my fate ? 

I soon perceived that I was firmly established in his 
good graees, and that I might safely count upon his will- 
ingness to serve me. Summoning up all my boldness one 
day, I asked him whether ni}^ release depended upon his 
decision. He replied that he had not absolute control of 
the matter, but that he had reason to hope that, upon his 
representations. Monsieur de G M (at whose so- 

licitation the Lieutenant-General of Police had ordered my 
confinement) would consent to my restoration to liberty. 


124 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT, 


‘‘May I flatter myself/’ I meekly inquired, “that the 
two months’ imprisonment which I have alread^^ under- 
gone will appear to him a sufficient expiation of my of- 
fences? ” 

He promised to speak to Monsieur de G M on 

the subject, if I so desired. I begged him earnestly to do 
me this service. Two days afterwards he informed me 

that G M had been so much impressed by the 

good accounts he had heard of me that he not only seemed 
inclined to set me free, but had even evinced a strong de- 
sire to know me better, and proposed paying me a visit in 



my prison. Although I could not anticipate his presence 
with any pleasure, I regarded it as a step on the road to 
my liberty. 

He carried out his intention and came to St. Lazare. He 
seemed to me more dignified in manner, and less of a silly 
old dotard than when I had seen him in Manon’s house. 
After making some sensible observations on the subject 
of my misconduct, he went on to say, in justification, ap- 
parently, of his own immorality, that while it is permissi- 
ble for weak mortals to indulge in certain pleasures which 
nature imperiously demands, it is only right that knave- 
ry and dishonest trickery should meet with severe pun- 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


135 


ishment. I listened to him with an air of submission 
which seemed greatly to gratify him. Nor did I exhibit 
any signs of resentment even when he proceeded to rally 
me on my brotherly relationship to Lescaut and Manon, 
and on the little chapels of which he said I had doubtless 
made a great many at St. Lazare, since I took so much 
pleasure in that pious amusement. But, imhappil}^ for 
him and for myself, he 1 ^ slip the remark that Manon, 
too, had probably built some very pretty ones at the 
Hopital. 

Despite the shudder which the name of that place sent 



through my frame, I retained sufficient self-control to ask 
him quietly to explain his meaning. 

’Tis as I say,” he replied. For two months past she 
has been learning lessons in virtue at the Hopital Gene- 
ral,^ and I trust that she has profited by them as much 
as you have at St. Lazare.” 

The prospect of an eternity of imprisonment, or of death 
itself, could not have forced me to restrain 1113^ rage at this 
hideous intelligence. I threw myself upon him with such 
fury that half m3^ strength was consumed hy its very vio- 

* A portion of the Hopital General of Paris was, at this time, 
used as a place of confinement and reformatory for abandoned fe- 
males of the lowest class. Hence the Chevalier’s horror. — Trans- 
lator. 


126 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


lence. I had enough remaining, however, to hurl him to 
the ground and clutch him h}^ the throat. I had nearl^^ 
strangled him when the noise of his fall and the few pierc- 
ing shrieks he was able to utter before I stifled his voice, 
brought the Superior and several of the Brotherhood to 
my room, and he was rescued from my grasp. I was 
myself almost exhausted, and panting for breath. 

‘•Just Heaven!” I cried, with sobs of agony, “how 
can I live another moment after hearing of infamy like 
this ? ” 

I strove to throw myself once more upon the barbarian 
who had dealt me this cruel blow, but they held me fast. 
My despair, my groans, my tears, transcended all concep- 
tion. I raved so wildly that all present, ignorant as they 
were of the cause, looked at one another with as much 
alarm as surprise. Monsieur de G M was mean- 

while rearranging his peruke and cravat ; and, in Ms in- 
dignation at having been subjected to such maltreatment, 
he ordered the Superior to see that I was more closely 
confined than ever, and to punish me by the infliction of 
all the pains and penalties which are well known to be 
resorted to at St. Lazare. 

“ No, sir,” said the Superior. “ We do not treat per- 
sons of the Chevalier’s rank in that manner. He is, 
besides, so gentle and courteous that I And it difficult to 
believe that he could so completely have lost control of 
himself without strong provocation.” 

This reply incensed M. de G M to the last de- 

gree. He took his departure, vowing that the Superior 
and I, and every one else who dared to oppose him, 
should yet learn that he was not to be thwarted . Order- 
ing his priests to conduct M. de G M to the door, 

the Superior remained alone with me, and begged me to 
tell him at once what had caused this disturbance. 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


127 


‘‘ Oh, Father ! ” said I, still sobbing like a child, try 
to conceive the most horrible act of cruelty, imagine the 
most atrocious of barbarities, and you will know the 

deed which that vile wretch G M has had the 

baseness to commit ! Alas ! He has crushed my very 
heart within me ; never shall I recover from this blow ! 
Let me tell you all,’’ I added, my voice choking with 
tears. ‘‘You are kind and good — ^mu will pity me ! ” 

I told him briefly the story of my long and unconquera- 
ble passion for Manon ; of the flourishing condition of our 
fortunes before we had been fleeced by our own servants ; 



of the offers which G M had made to my mis- 

tress; of the bargain they had concluded together, and 
of the way in which it had been broken. I represented 
things to him, I must own, in the light most favorable to 
ourselves. 

“Now you perceive,” I w^ent on, “the source of M. de 

Q M ’s zeal for my reformation. He commanded 

influence enough to have me confined here purely from 
motives of revenge. I could forgive him were this all, 
but. Father, it is not all. He has had my dearer half 
ruthlessly torn from me and thrown into ignominious im- 
prisonment in the Hopital. Had he not the audacity to 
tell me so this very day with his own lips ? In the Hopi- 
tal, my Father— -think of it ! Merciful Heaven ! My 


128 THE STORY OF 3IAN0N LESCAUT. 

sweet mistress, the beloved queen of my heart, in the 
Hopital — as thoug’h she were the vilest of creatures ! 
How can I find fortitude enoug-h to survive this grief 
and shame ? ” 

The good Father, distressed at seeing me in such deep 
affliction, did his best to console me. He told me that he 
had never understood my a dventure as I related it. He had 
been aware, indeed, that I had been leading an immoral life, 

but had hitherto been under the impression that M. de G 

M had interfered simply because he felt bound to do 

so out of friendship and esteem for my family. This, he 



said, was the only ground which M. de G M had 

taken when explaining the matter to him. What I had 
just told him, he assured me, would quite change the 
aspect of affairs for me ; and he had no doubt that the 
faithful report of my story, which he intended to make to 
the Lieutenant-General of Police, would go far towards 
obtaining me my liberty. 

He then asked me how it was that it had never occurred 
to me to let my family know of what had taken place, 
since they had had no share in consigning me to prison. 
I parried this suggestion by pleading that I dreaded the 
pain such a confession would cause my father, and the 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


129 


shame I should feel in making* it. Finally, he promised 
to go at once to the Lieutenant-General of Police, ‘Gvere 
it only,’’ he added, ‘Ho prevent some worse proceeding 

on the part of M. de G M , who left here in great 

displeasure, and who is a man of sufficient influence to be 
a formidable enemy.” 

I awaited the Superior’s return with all the anxiety of a 
poor wretch whose sentence is about to be pronounced . It 
was inexpressible torture for me to think of Manon at the 
Hopital. Besides the infamy with which the place was 
associated in my mind, I was in utter ignorance as to what 
treatment she was being subjected to there ; and the recol- 
lection of some details which I had heard concerning that 
house of horrors threw me every moment into fresh par- 
oxysms of rage. So fully was I resolved to go to her aid, 
at whatever cost and by whatever means — that I would 
have set Are to St. Lazare, had it been impossible for me 
to escape in any other way. 

I began to consider, therefore, what course there re- 
mained for me to adopt, in case the Lieutenant-General 
should continue to keep me a prisoner there in spite of 
myself. I taxed my ingenuity to the utmost, and ran 
over every imaginable possibility in my mind. I could 
hit upon nothing that held out a certain prospect of 
escape; and I was afraid that an unsuccessful attempt 
would only result in my being put under stricter sur- 
veillance than ever. I thought of several friends from 
whom I might hope for aid ; but how was I to let them 
know of my situation ? 

At last I worked out a plan which seemed to me inge- 
nious enough to have a fair chance of success. Its still 
further elaboration I postponed until after the return of 
the Father Superior, in case his errand should have failed 
and the necessity for it should consequently still exist. 


130 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


He soon came back. I failed to detect in his face any of 
the sig-ns of pleasure which accompany good news. 

I have seen the Lieutenant-General of Police/’ said 

he ; ‘‘ but I was too late. M. de G M went straight 

to him on leaving here ; and prejudiced him so strongly 
against you that he Avas on the point of sending me fresh 
orders to put you under still closer restraint. However, 
when I acquainted him with the true version of your af- 
fairs, he seemed to relent considerably ; and, after laugh- 
ing a little over the incontinence of old M. de G M , 

he told me that, in order to satisfy him, you must be kept 



here for six months ; especially, he added, as your stay 
could not but be beneficial to you. He enjoined me to 
treat you well ; and I promise you that you shall have no 
reason to complain of my behavior toward you.” 

The worthy Superior was long enough m narrating all 
this to give me time to make a prudent reflection. I saw 
that I should run the risk of defeating my plans if I be- 
trayed too much impatience for my release. I therefore 
assured him on the contrary, that, as I must remain, it 
was a great comfort for me to know that I held some small 
place in his esteem. I then begged him unaffectedly to 
grant me a favor which, while it was of no consequence to 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


131 


any One else, would add mucji to my own peace of mind ; 
and this was to send word to one of my friends, a pious 
priest who lived at St. Sulpice, that I was at St. Lazare ; 
and to permit me occasionally to receive his visits. This 
indulgence was accorded me without hesitation. 

My friend Tiherge was the one whom I had in mind ; 
not that I hoped to obtain from him the assistance I 
needed in order to regain my liberty ; but I wished to make 
use of him as an indirect and unconscious instrument for 
the attainment of my purpose. In a word, my project was 
to write to Lescaut, entrusting to him and our mutual 



friends the task of setting me free. The first difficulty 
was to get my letter into his hands. That office Tiberge 
must perform. Knowing as he did, however, that Les- 
caut was my mistress’s brother, I feared that he would 
have some scruples about undertaking this commission. 
My plan was to enclose my letter to Lescaut in another, 
to be directed to a respectable acquaintance of mine, 
with a request that he would immediately deliver the first 
letter at its address. It was necessary for me to see Les- 
caut, in order that we might concert measures ^together ; 
and my object in writing was to tell him to call upon me 
at St. Lazare, under pretence of being my eldest brother 


133 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT 


and of having come to Paris expressly to acquaint himself 
with the position of my affairs. I postponed until our 
meeting the consideration of such steps as we might agree 
upon as the safest and most expeditious. 


CHAPTER X. 


The Father Superior sent word to Tiberge of my desire 
to have an interview with him. That faithful friend had 
not so completely lost sight of me as to he ignorant of my 
adventure. He knew that I was at St. Lazare; and 



probably did not view altogether with regret a disgrace 
which he thought might result in my reformation. He 
lost no time in responding to my summons. 

Our conversation was friendly in the extreme. He was 
anxious to know my present frame of mind, and I opened 
my heart to him without reserve, save on the subject of 
my contemplated flight. 

In your eyes, dear friend,’’ I said to him, I do not 
wish to appear other than I am. If you hoped to find here 


134 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


a friend of virtuous inclinations and well-controlled desires 
— a libertine awakened by divine cliastiseinent to a sense 
of his errors — in a word, a heart freed from the bondage 
of love and disenchanted with the charms of its Manon— 
then, frankly, you have judged of me too favorably. As 
I was when you left me four months ago, so Amu see me 
now, still in love, and still made miserable by that fatal 
attachment, from which, nevertheless, I do not despair of 
deriving happiness in the end ! ” 

He replied that this avowal showed me to be in a con- 
dition of mind that was utterly inexcusable. There are, 



indeed,” he said, many sinners Avho become so intoxicated 
with the delusive happiness of vice, as to openly prefer it to 
the true happiness of virtue ; but they cling to what is, 
at any rate, a semblance of felicity, and are the dupes of 
appearances. But, to recognize, as you do, that the object 
of your affections can only lead you into guilt and misery 
— and to persist in voluntarily plunging into an abyss of 
crime and sorrow, is a contradiction of thought and con- 
duct which does small honor to ^mur powers of reason.” 

‘‘ Ah, Tiberge ! ” responded I, Tis easy for you to con- 
quer when your arms are unopposed ! Let me now argue 
in my turn. Can you pretend that what you call the hap- 
piness of virtue is exempt from sufferings, from disap- 


TBE STORY OF MANON LESCAVT. 


135 


poiiitments, and from cares ? In what categ-oiy, then, do 
you place the dun^*eon and the cross, all the horrors of 
torture and persecution at the hands of tyrants ? Do you 
think, with the Mystics, that whatever torments the body 
is bliss for the soul ? No ; you would not venture to up- 
hold so indefensible a paradox. This happiness, then, 
wdiich you extol so highly, is mingled with innumerable 
ills ; or, to speak more accurately, is but a tangled web 
of miseries, through which men struggle toward felicity. 
Now, granting that the force of imagination can trans- 
mute into joys these very evils themselves, from the fact 



that through them may be attained the coveted goal of 
happiness — why should you regard as contradictory and 
irrational an entirely similar spirit in the course that 
I pursue ? I love Manon : I struggle onward, through 
countless sufferings, toward a life of happiness and peace 
at her side. The path which I tread is a thorny one ; but 
the hope of reaching my goal sheds gladness on it all the 
way ; and I should hold myself only too richly repaid, by 
one moment spent with her, for all the sorrows I am en- 
during to win her. It seems to me, therefore, that all con- 
siderations are equal, on your side and on mine ; or, if there 
be any difference, it is rather in my favor— as the happi- 
ness for which I hope is near at hand, and the other is 


/ 


136 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


remote ; and as mine is of the same nature as my suffer- 
ings — that is, physically perceptible ; while the nature of 
the other is unknown, and ascertainable only by faith.’’ 

Tiberge appeared to be horrified by this reasoning. Re- 
coiling some paces, he told me very gravely that what I 
had just said not only outraged common-sense, but was a 
miserable sophism of impiety and unbelief: For,” he 

added, to compare, as you do, the aim of your sufferings 
with that which Religion sets before us, is an idea of the 
most monstrous and irreligious kind.” 

I admit,” was my reply, that it is not justifiable ; 
but, you will please be careful to observe, it is not upon 
that comparison that my argument rests. My object was 
to explain what you regard as the inconsistency of my per- 
severance in an ill-starred love ; and I think I have proved 
very conclusively that, if inconsistency there be, you es- 
cape it no better than myself. It was in this respect alone 
that I treated the considerations on either side as equal ; 
and I still maintain that they are so. Do you reply that 
the goal of Virtue is infinitely loftier than that of Love ? 
Who but will admit it? Is that the point in question, 
however? Are we not at present concerned with the 
power which they respectively possess of rendering suffer- 
ing endurable ? 

Let us judge by results. How many deserters do we 
find from strict Virtue, and how few from Love ! Do I 
hear you answer that although, in the practice of Virtue, 
there are trials to be endured, they are not essential or in- 
evitable; that both Tyrant and Cross have long since dis- 
appeared, and that many pious and virtuous people are to 
be seen in the enjoyment of peaceful and happ}^ lives ? My 
rejoinder is that there are instances, also, of calm and 
contented love ; and, let me add, as another point of dif- 
ference that is greatly in my favor, that Love, treacherous 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


137 


as it often is, holds out the promise of nothing but joy and 
pleasure, whereas Religion presents for our anticipation a 
round of sombre and irksome observances. 

‘‘ Do not be alarmed,” I hastened to add, for I saw that 
his piety was on the point of taking umbrage, ‘‘the only 
conclusion wdiich I mean to draw now is that there can be 
no worse method of exorcising love from a man’s heart 
than to decry its delights to him and to promise him 
greater gratification in the pursuit of Virtue. Constituted 
as we are, there is no disputing the fact that our happi- 
ness consists in pleasure; I defy any one to form any 



other conception of it. Now, the moment the heart is 
consulted, it will testify that of all possible pleasures, the 
most exquisite are those of love. To promise it deeper 
joys from any ®ther source is but to delude it, as it quickly 
discovers ; and such deception inclines it to distrust even 
the most positive assurances. 

“ To all preachers, therefore, who would reclaim me to 
virtue, I say : Tell me, if you will, that it is of all things 
the most indispensably necessary ; but do not disguise the 
fact that its requirements are austere and rigorous. Prove 
beyond all question that the delights of love are fleeting ; 
that they are forbidden ; that indulgence in them will be 
followed by eternal punishment ; prove— what will, per- 


138 


TBB STORY OF MANON LFSCAUT. 


haps, impress me even more — that the sweeter and more 
enchanting- they are, the more bountiful will Heaven be in 
rewarding a sacrifice so hard to make ; but at least admit 
that, while human hearts beat in our bosoms, these same 
joys of love constitute the most perfect felicity we can 
know upon this earth !” 

These concluding words of mine restored Tiberge’s good 
humor. He owned that my views were not altogether un- 
reasonable, and advanced no objection to them beyond 
asking me why it was that I did not at least follow out 
my own principles, by sacrificing my love for the hope of 
that reward which, according to my conceptions of it, 
would be so great. 

‘‘Ah! my dear friend,’^ was my reply, “that is just 
where I recognize my own miserable weakness. Alas, 
yes ! It is my duty to act in accordance with my reason- 
ing ; but to do so requires a strength I do not possess ; 
and powerful, indeed, must be the aid which would make 
it possible for me to banish Manon’s charms from my 
memory ! ’ ’ 

“ Another of the Jansenist * brood, as I live ! ’’ exclaimed 
Tiberge. 

“ I do not know what I am,” was my reply ; “ nor is 'it 
very clear to me what one ought to be ; but I am now ex- 


* The heresies supposed to be contained in Cornelius Jansen’s book 
—the Augustinus — collected by the Faculty of Theology of 
Paris in five Propositions, which were condemned by the Papal Bull 
of 31st May, 1G53, and so gave rise to the celebrated controversy be- 
tween the Jansenists and Jesuits, in which Pascal’s Provincial Let- 
ters played so notable a part. Tiberge alludes above to the first of 
these five propositions, which was to the following effect: “There 
are divine commandments which good men, although willing, are 
unable to obey ; and the Grace by which tliese commandments are 
possible, is also wanting in them.” — Translator. 


THE STOBY OF MANON LE8CAUT. 139 

periencing* only too profoundly the truth of that doctrine 
of theirs.’’ 

This conversation served, at all events, to revive 
friend’s compassion for me. He perceived that my laxity 
of morals was the outcome of weakness rather than of 
depravity, and this made him more willing in after days 
to render me assistance without which I should inevitably 
have perished in misery. 

I did not, however, give him the least inkling of my de- 
sign of escaping from St. Lazare. I merely asked him 
to undertake the delivery of my letter. I had prepared it 



before he came, and found no lack of pretexts to lend color 
to my necessity for writing. He faithfully carried it to 
its address, and before the close of the day Lescaut re- 
ceived the one intended for him. 

He came on the following day to see me, and was suc- 
cessful in passing himself off as my brother. My joy 
knew no bounds when I saw him enter my room. Care- 
fully closing the door, I said to him : Do not let us waste 
a moment. First give me some news of Manon, and then 
let me have your best advice as to how to shake off my 
fetters.” 

He assured me that he had not seen his sister since the 
day before my imprisonment. Only by dint of the most 


140 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


diligent inquiry had he been able, he said, to ascertain 
her fate and my own ; and he had presented himself at the 
Hopital two or three times without being able to obtain 
permission to speak to her. 

Dearly will I make that villain G M pay for 

this ! ” exclaimed I. 

As to setting you free,^’ continued Lescaut, that is 
a more difficult undertaking than you imagine. Two of 
my friends and I spent last evening examining the exterior 
of this establishment in every part, and we came to the 
conclusion that, your windows opening, as you mentioned 
in your letter, on a court-yard surrounded by buildings, it 
would be no easy task to get you out. You are, more- 
over, on the third story ; and it would be quite impossible 
for us to smuggle either ropes or ladders in here. Noth- 
ing, therefore, can be accomplished from the outside, as 
far as I can see ; and we must hit upon some scheme that 
can be carried into effect in the house itself.’’ 

‘‘No,” I replied; “I have considered everything, espe- 
cially since the strictness of m^^ confinement has been 
somewhat relaxed by the indulgence of the Superior. The 
door of my room is no longer kept locked, and I am at 
liberty to walk about the galleries used by the priests. 
All the stairways are cut off, however, b}^ heavy doors 
which are kept carefully closed day and night, so that it 
is impossible for me to effect my escape by the exercise of 
ingenuity alone. But wait,” I added, after thinking for 
a moment over an idea which struck me as an excellent 
one ; “ could you bring me a pistol ? ” 

“Certainl3%” replied Lescaut, “but do you mean to 
commit murder ? ’ ’ 

I assured him that I had so little intention of killing 
any one that the pistol need not even be loaded. “ Bring 
it to me to-morrow,” I continued, “ and do not fail to be 


THE STORY OF 3IAN0N LESCAUT. 


141 


opposite the entrance of this building-, with two or three of 
our friends, at eleven o’clock to-morrow night. I hope to 
he able to join you there.” 

He urged me in vain to give him some further particu- 
lars of my project. I told him that an attempt such as 
the one I contemplated making could not but appear fool- 
hardy until after it had succeeded. I begged him to 
shorten his visit in order that he might have less difficulty 
in obtaining permission to see me the next day. 

He was admitted as readily as he had been on the first 



occasion. The serious and dignified demeanor which he 
assumed would have made him pass anywhere for a per- 
son of the utmost respectability. 

Once furnished with the instrument of my release, I 
scarcely felt any doubt as to the success of my scheme. 
It was a strange and audacious one ; but what was I not 
capable of with the motives that inspired me ? 

Since I had been permitted to leave my room and walk 
about the galleries, I had noticed that every night the 
porter was in the habit of taking the keys of all the doors 
to the Superior, and that afterwards a profound silence 
reigned throughout the house, which showed that every 
one had retired to rest. 

By passing through a gallery of communication I could 
go from my own room to the Superior’s without en- 


142 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


countering any obstacle. My plan was to take the keys 
from him, intimidating him with my pistol if he made any 
difficulty about surrendering them, and then to use them 
in gaining the street. I waited impatiently for the proper 
moment to arrive. The porter made his appearance at 
his usual time — a little after nine o’clock. I allowed 
another hour to pass in order to be sure that all the priests 
and servants were asleep, and then, taking my weapon 
and a lighted candle, I sallied forth. 

I first knocked gently at the Superior’s door, in order 



to awaken him with as little noise as possible. He did not 
hear me until I had rapped a second time, and then, doubt- 
less supposing it was one of the priests who had been 
taken ill and needed assistance, he rose to let me in. He 
took the precaution, however, of asking through the door 
who it was and what he was wanted for. I was obliged 
to give my name, but I did so in a tone of assumed dis- 
tress, that he might think I was indisposed. 

“ Ah ! it is you, my dear son ! ” said he, as he opened 
the door. What brings you here at this late hour ? ” 

I stepped into the room, and leading him to the other 
side of it, opposite the door, I told him that I found it ab- 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


143 


solutely impossible to remain at St. Lazare any longer ; 
that the night was a favorable time for leaving it unob- 
served, and that I expected him, as my friend, to consent 
to open the doors for me, or to lend me the keys so that I 
might open them myself. 

This polite suggestion naturally" took him by surprise. 
He stood gazing at me blankl^^ for some minutes without 
making any reply. As I had no time to lose, I went on to 
assure him hastily that, deeply as I appreciated all his 
kindness, liberty must be the first consideration with every 
man, especially with one who, like me, was unjustly de- 



prived of it, and that I was resolved to regain mine that 
very night, at whatever cost. Fearing that it might 
occur to him to raise his voice and call for help, I showed 
him the unanswerable argument in favor of silence which 
I was holding concealed under my coat. 

‘'A pistol!” he exclaimed; 'Avhat, my son, do you 
intend to take my life in return for all the indulgence 
I hdve shown you ? ” 

God forbid,” I replied ; you are too prudent and rea- 
sonable to drive me to that necessity ; but I am determined 
to escaiie, and so fully am I resolved upon it that, if my 
purpose be defeated through any fault of yours, your fate 
is sealed 1 ” 


144 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


‘‘ But, my dear son, he expostulated, pale and terrified, 
what harm have I ever done you? Why should you 
wish to kill me ? ” 

Have I not already told you,’’ I answered impatiently, 
that I have no desig'n upon your life ? If you wish to 
live, you have only to open the doors for me, and I shall 
he your friend forever after.” 

Here I caught sight of the keys, which were lying on 
the table, and, seizing them, I told him to come with me. 



and to make as little noise as possible. He was obliged to 
comply. 

As he opened each of the doors that barred our prog- 
ress, he sighed and repeated, ‘‘Ah, my son, my son ! 
Who would ever have thought this of you ? ” 

“ Silence, good Father, not a sound ! ” I reiterated every 
few moments, on my side. 

At last we came to a kind of barrier placed in front of 
the main entrance from the street. I fancied myself 
already free, and was standing behind the Superior with 
my candle in one hand and my pistol in the other. 

While he was hurriedly removing the barrier, a servant 
who slept in a small room near b}^, hearing the rattling 
of the bolts, jumped out of bed and looked out of his door. 
The good Father, thinking, apparently, that this man 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 145 

would be able to arrest my flig-ht, ordered him, most im- 
prudently, to come to his assistance. The fellow was a 
stalwart rascal, and threw himself upon me without a 
moment’s hesitation. I did not stop to parley with him, 
but discharged my pistol full at his breast. ‘‘You are 
responsible for this, father,” I said haughtily to my guide, 
“but you must finish your task, notwithstanding,” I 
added, pushing him on towards the last door. He dared 
not refuse to open it, and I sprang out, free at last ! A 



few paces off I found Lescaut waiting for me with two 
friends, as he had promised. 

We hurried away. Lescaut asked me whether he had 
not heard the report of a pistol. 

“ That was your fault,” I replied, “ why did you bring 
me a loaded one ? ” 

I thanked him, nevertheless, for having taken that pre- 
caution-had it not been for which I should doubtless have 
remained at St. Lazare for many a day. We went to 
spend the night at a tavern, where I made up, to some 
extent, for the poor fare to which I had been accustomed 
for nearly three months. I could not give myself up to 
the full enjoyment of the moment, however, for I was tor- 
tured by the thought of what Manon might be suffering. 

“We must rescue her ! ” I said to my three friends. “ I 


146 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT 


longed for my own liberty only with that object in view. 
You will, I am sure, bring all your ingenuity to my aid, 
while I, for my part, will devote my very life to the 
task.” 

Lescaut, who was not lacking in shrewdness and discre- 
tion, pointed out to me that we must act with great cau- 
tion. My flight from St. Lazare, he said, and the unlucky 
offence I had committed while effecting my escape, would 
inevitably cause a public sensation ; the Lieutenant-Gen- 
eral of Police would institute a search for me, and his arm 
was a far-reaching one. In fine, unless I wished to run 
the risk of something even worse than St. Lazare, he 
thought it would be as well for me to remain in hiding 
within four walls for a few days, so that the first zeal of 
my enemies might have time to cool. 

There was wisdom in his advice ; but wisdom was also 
needed to follow it. So much circumspection and delay 
accorded but ill with my passion. I could stretch my 
compliance no further than to promise him that I would 
spend all the following day in bed. He locked me up in 
his room, where I remained until the evening. 

Part of this time I occupied in devising projects and 
thinking out expe^^ients for Manon’s relief. I had every 
reason to believe t^at her prison was even more impene- 
trable than my own had been. Force and violence were 
out of the question ; our only hope lay in stratagem, but 
the Goddess of Invention herself would have been at a loss 
how to begin. 

I could find no solution of the problem, and postponed 
further consideration of it until after I had made some 
inquiries regarding the internal arrangements of the 
Hopital. 


CHAPTER XI. 


No sooner had the return of night released me from my 
hiding-place, than I asked Lescaut to accompany me to 
the HopitaL We entered into conversation with one of 
the porters, who seemed an intelligent fellow. Pretending 



to be a foreigner who had heard much admiration ex- 
pressed for the Hopital General and its excellent man- 
agement, I questioned him concerning the minutest de- 
tails ; and, passing from one matter to another, we finally 
fell to talking about the Guardians, whose names and 
rank I asked him to tell me. His answers on this last 
point suggested an idea to my mind which I welcomed 
as a happy one ; and I proceeded to put it into operation 


148 


THE STORY OF 3IAN0N LESCAUT. 


without further delay. As an essential preliminary to my 
project, I inquired whether any of the gentlemen he had 
mentioned had children. He replied that he could not he 

certain about all of them, but he knew that M. de T , 

one of the principal Guardians, had a son of marriageable 
age, who frequently came to the Hopital with his father. 

This information sufficed for my purpose, and I soon 
after brought the conversation to a close. On our way 
home I confided my newly conceived plan to Lescaut. 

I may fairly assume,” said I, that this M. de T ’s 

son, who is rich and well-connected, has, in common with 
most young fellows of his age, more or less taste for 
pleasure. He is hardly likely to be a woman-hater, or 
such a milksop as to refuse his aid in a love affair. It is 
my design to enlist his interest in Manon’s release. If he 
be a man of honor and feeling, he will lend us his assist- 
ance out of pure generosity. Even if he cannot be influ- 
enced by such motives, he will, at all events, do something 
to help a beautiful girl, if only in the hope of obtaining a 
share of her favors. I mean to see him,” I added, to- 
morrow, at the latest.” I drew a good omen from the 
fact that the very project afforded me great consolation. 
Even Lescaut admitted that my expectations were not un- 
reasonable, and that we might allow ourselves to hope that 
something would come of my proposed attempt. I passed 
a more cheerful night in consequence. 

The next morning I dressed myself as presentably as 
my poverty-stricken condition would admit, and drove in 

a hackney-coach to the residence of M. de T . He was 

somewhat surprised at receiving a visit from a perfect 
stranger ; but I augured well from his face and the cour- 
tesy of his manner. 

I frankly explained 1113^ object in coming to see him, 
and, with a view of exciting in him an even warmer inter- 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


149 


est than his natural feeling-s might have prompted, I dwelt 
upon the beauty of my mistress as unequalled, save, in- 
deed, by the passion with which it inspired me. 

He told me that, although he had never seen Manon, 
he had heard of her ; if I alluded, at least, to the young 

woman who hadrlDeen the mistress of old G M . I 

at once surmised that he knew of my share in that trans- 
action, and, in order to gain his sympathy more complete- 
ly? t)y taking him into my confidence, and so establishing 
a claim upon him, I gave him a detailed account of all 
that had happened to Manon and m^^self. 



"‘You see, sir,” continued I, “ that the interests of my 
life and of my heart are now in your hands. Those of the 
one are no dearer to me than those of the other. I have 
confided in you without reserve, because I am no stranger 
to the generosity of your character, and because the fact 
of our being so nearly of the same age leads me to hope 
that there may also be some similarity in our tastes and 
inclinations.” 

He appeared to be very much touched by these marks 
of trust and candor. His reply was that of a man pos- 
sessing all the polish of good society, together with a deli- 
cacy of feeling which society does not always give, and 


150 


THE STORY OF MANON LESOAUT. 


often destroys. He told me that he counted my visit 
among the fortunate events of his life — that he should re- 
gard my friendship as one of his most valued acquisitions, 
and would strive to merit it by his zeal in my service. 
He did not promise to restore Manon to me, as he could 
boast, he said, of only slight and uncertain influence ; but 
he offered to procure me the pleasure of seeing her, and 
to do all in his power to bring her once more to my arms. 

I was better pleased with this uncertainty on his part 
as to the extent of his influence than I should have been 
with a positive assurance that he would secure the fulfil- 



ment of all my wishes. I discerned, in the very modesty 
of his promises, an indication of sincerity which delighted 
me. In a word, I allowed myself to hope for everything 
from his good offices on my behalf. His undertaking to 
obtain me an opportunity of seeing Manon would alone 
have made me his willing slave. I expressed these senti- 
ments to him as best I could, and, in doing so, gave him 
every reason to believe that my character was not un- 
worthy of his esteem. We embraced one another affec- 
tionatel}^, and became fast friends, out of pure warmth of 
heart, and that natural inclination which prompts one 
man of ardent and generous temperament to attach him- 
self to another of similar disposition. 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


151 


He carried the evidences of his regard much further ; 
for, connecting my various adventures in his mind, and 
concluding that my flight from St. Lazare must have left 
me almost destitute of means, he offered me his purse, 
and pressed its acceptance upon me. 

‘‘Nay, sir,’’ I said, refusing it, “you are too good. If 
I am to owe the happiness of once more seeing my dear 
Manon to your kind and friendly assistance, you will have 
my life-long gratitude. If you restore that beloved being 
to me altogether, I shall feel that, though I were to shed 
m^^ blood to the last drop in your service, I should still be 
in your debt.” 

Before separating, we agreed upon the time and place 
of our next meeting. He was considerate enough not to 
prolong my suspense any further than he could help, and 
appointed that very afternoon. I waited for him at a 
cafcy where he rejoined me at about four o’clock, and we 
repaired together to the Hopital. 

My knees trembled under me as we crossed the court- 
yards. “ Goddess of Love ! ” I inwardly ejaculated, “is 
it indeed true that I am once more to behold the idol of 
my soul, the object of so many tears and so much an- 
guish of heart ? Then, Heaven, give me but strength to 
reach her side ; and after that dispose as you will of my 
fortunes and of my remaining days ; this one boon is all ! 
ask of you ! ” 

M. de T spoke to some of the door-keepers of the 

place, who showed every desire to be of use to him in any 
way that they could. He made them point out to him 
the part of the establishment in which Manon’s room was 
situated ; and we were conducted to it, our escort carry- 
ing a key of terrific size with which to unlock her door. 

I asked the turnkey who accompanied us, and who was 
the one appointed to attend to her wants, how she had 


152 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


passed her time since she had been in this place. He told 
us that she was as g-entle as an ang-el, and that he had 
never had a harsh word from her. She had wept inces- 
santly, he said, for the first six weeks after her arrival ; 
but for some time back she had seemed more patient un- 
der her misfortune, and occupied herself in sewing* from 
morning till night, with the exception of a few hours 
which she devoted to reading. I inquired, further, 
whether she had been properly supplied with food. He 



assured me that the necessaries of life, at all events, had 
never been denied her. 

As we approached her door, my heart began to throb 
violently ; and I said to M. de T : 

Pray go in by yourself and prepare her for my com- 
ing, for I fear that to see me thus suddenly and unexpect- 
edly would give her too violent a shock.” 

The door was opened for us. I remained outside in the 
corridor, near enough, however, to overhear every word 

that passed between them. M. de T told Manon that 

he had come in the hope of being able to offer her some 
consolation, as he was a friend of mine, and took a deep 
interest in our welfare. She inquired, with intense eager- 
ness, whether he could tell her what had become of me. 


THE STORY OF MAHON LESOAUT. 


153 


He promised to bring me to her feet, as loving and as 
loyal as her heart could desire. 

‘‘ How soon ? ” 

“ This very day. The happy moment is near at hand. 
You have hut to express your wish, and your lover will 
stand before you.” 

She needed no further explanation, but understood at 
once that I was at the door, and flew impetuously towards 
it as I entered. In a moment we were clasped in each 
other’s arms and embracing one another with that lav- 
ish tenderness which, after a separation of three long 



months, is such unspeakable bliss to all true lovers. Our 
sighs, our broken exclamations, the countless endearing 
names that fell from her lips and my own, and were re- 
peated again and again with fond reiteration— such, for 
many minutes, were the elements of a scene which M. de 
T contemplated with unfeigned emotion. 

You fill me with envy,” he said, as he offered us 
seats. I would resign the most glorious career that 
Fortune could offer me, to possess a mistress as lovely, 
as passionately devoted as yours.” 

And have I not, too, felt that all the power and glory 
the world could give were as nothing to the happiness of 
being loved by her ? ” was my reply. 

I need scarcely say that the deepest tenderness charac- 


154 


THE STORY OF MANOK LESCAUT. 


terized all the remainder of an interview which had so 
long been the dearest wish of our hearts. My poor Ma- 
non gave me an account of all her adventures, and I re- 
lated my own to her. We wept bitterly as we talked over 
her present situation and the one from which I had so 

recently escaped. M. de T consoled us by renewed 

promises that he would spare no endeavor to bring our 
troubles to an end. He advised us to make this first in- 
terview as short as possible, as he would then have less 
difficulty in procuring us others. 

He found it no easy task to make us relish this advice. 



Manon, especially, could not make up her mind to let me 
go. Again and again I rose, and again and again did she 
force me back into my chair. 

“ Alas ! ” she cried, as she strove to retain me by cling- 
ing to my coat and to my hands, are you, then, going 
to leave me in this vile place ? Who can say whether I 
shall ever see you again ? ” 

M. de T assured her that he would bring me fre- 

quently to see her. 

“ As for the place,” he added, gallantly, we must not 
think of it as the Hopital, but as Versailles, since it holds 
within its precincts one who might fitly reign over the 
hearts of all mankind.” 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAtIT. 


155 


As I went out I gave some money to the turnkey who 
was her attendant, in order to enlist his zeal in her ser- 
vice. This fellow was not so sordid and hardened as 
most of his class. He had witnessed our meeting^ and 
that touching spectacle had excited his compassion ; while 
a louis d'or, which I now handed him, won his complete 
devotion to my interests. 

He took me aside as we were going down to the court- 
yard, and said : 

“ If you will take me into your service, sir, or give me 
a fair reward, to compensate me for the loss of my em- 



plo^^ment here, I think I can easily assist Miss Manon to 
escape.” 

I lent an eager ear to this proposition, and, destitute as 
I was of means, I promised him far more than he expected, 
feeling persuaded that I should have no difficulty in satis- 
fying a fellow of his stamp at any time. 

‘‘You may depend upon my doing all I can for you, my 
friend,” said I, “and may consider your fortune as well 
assured as my own.” 

I then asked him how he intended to proceed. 

“ Simply hy opening her door for her some evening,” he 
replied, “ and showing her the way to the street entrance, 
where you must be waiting to receive her.” 


156 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


I expressed my fear that she might he recognized in 
passing through the corridors and yards, and he admitted 
that there was some danger of that mishap occurring ; 
but, he urged, we must of course he prepared to run a 
certain amount of risk. 

Although I was delighted to find him so full of deter- 
mination, I thought it only prudent to call M. de T 

and communicate the project to him, indicating, at the 
same time, the only element in it which seemed at all 
likely to render its success doubtful. He saw greater dif- 
ficulties in the way of its accomplishment than had oc- 
curred to me. He did not, indeed, deny that Manon might 
succeed in effecting her escape in the manner suggested ; 
“ hut,’’ he went on to say, should she he recognized and 
arrested, while making good her flight, there would prob- 
ably he no further hope for her. Moreover, you would 
have to leave Paris at once ; for you could never hide 
yourself so effectually as to he out of reach of the search 
that would he made for you. The efforts of the authori- 
ties would he redoubled, both in your case and hers. A 
man by himself can easily elude pursuit, hut to remain in 
concealment with a pretty woman is next door to impos- 
sible.” 

Sound as this reasoning appeared to me, it failed to turn 
the scale in my mind against the hope of so speedily re- 
storing Manon to liberty. I acknowledged this to M. de 

T , and begged him to make some allowances for the 

imprudence and temerity natural to love; and I added 
that I had alread}^ determined to leave Paris and reside in 
some neighboring village, as I had done once before. 

We accordingly arranged with the turnkey that his at- 
tempt should be deferred no longer than the following day ; 
and in order to do all in our power to insure its success, 
we decided to bring with us some articles of male apparel. 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


157 


with a view to facilitating our flight. It was no eas^^ 
matter to smuggle them in ; hut I had enough fertility of 
invention to hit upon a method of doing so. Merely ask- 
ing M. de T to wear two thin waistcoats the next 

day, one underneath the other, I undertook to answer for 
all the rest. 

In the morning we returned to the Hopital. I took 
with me some under-linen, a pair of stockings, etc., for 
Manon ; and wore, over my coat, a surtout, which con- 
cealed the bulky appearance of my pockets. We remained 
in her room only a few minutes. M. de T left her one 



of his waistcoats, while I gave her my coat — the surtout 
serving well enough for me to go away in. There was 
nothing lacking to complete her costume except a pair of 
breeches, which I had unluckily forgotten. The omission 
of these very necessary garments would doubtless have 
afforded us matter for laughter, had the embarrassment 
to which it put us been less serious. I was in despair to 
think that a trifle of this nature might result in the defeat 
of all our hopes. My determination was soon arrived at, 
however, and was no other than to make my exit without 
breeches, leaving my own behind me for Manon. My sur- 
tout was a long one, and, with the aid of a few pins, I put 


158 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT 


myself in such trim as to be able to take my departure 
with decency. 

The remainder of the day seemed to me intolerably 
long* ; but night came at last, and we took a coach and 
drove to within a short distance of the gates of the H6pi~ 
tal. We had not waited there many minutes before Ma- 
non and her escort made their appearance. The door of 
our coach was open ; they hurriedly leaped in, and I 
clasped my beloved mistress to my heart. She was trem- 
bling like a leaf. 



Where shall I drive? ” asked the coachman. 

Drive to the uttermost ends of the earth!’’ cried I, 
and carry me to some spot where I can never again he 
separated from Man on I ” 

This mad speech, which hurst from me unawares, was 
well-nigh involving me in a troublesome predicament. 
The coachman pondered over my words, and when I pro- 
ceeded to tell him the name of the street to which we 
wished to he driven, he replied that he was afraid I was 
involving him in a dangerous piece of business. He could 
see plainly enough, he said, that the handsome young 
person in man’s clothes, called Manon, was a girl whom I 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


159 


was carrying off from the Hopital ; and he had no fancy 
for getting himself into trouble merely to oblige me. 

The rascal’s scruples were simply a pretence for extort- 
ing a higher price from me for his coach. We were in 
too close proximity to the Hopital to make any alterca- 
tion desirable. 

Hold your peace/’ said I, and you will earn a louis 
d^or,” 

After that, he would have aided me to burn down the 
Hopital itself had I asked him. 

We drove to the house in which Lescaut lived. As the 

hour was late M. de T left us on the way, promising 

to come and see us the following day. The turnkey alone 
remained with us. 

I held Manon clasped so closely in my arms that we 
occupied only the place of one in the coach. She was 
weeping from joy, and I felt my face moistened by her 
tears. 

When we reached Lescaut’s door and were about to 
alight, I had a fresh dispute with the coachman, the con- 
sequences of which were disastrous. I repented my prom- 
ise of giving him a louis, not only because the sum was 
exorbitant, but for another and much weightier reason — 
my utter inability to pay it. 

I sent for Lescaut, who came down from his room to 
the door. I told him in a whisper the plight that I was 
in. Being naturally hot-tempered, and by no means accus- 
tomed to waste much consideration upon a coachman, he re- 
plied that I must surely be in jest. ‘‘A louis d^or, indeed ! ” 
he exclaimed. Trounce the fellow with your cane until 
he has his money’s worth ! ” In vain did I expostulate 
with him in a low voice that he would be the undoing of 
us. He snatched my cane out of my hands, and was evi- 
dently about to lay it across the driver’s shoulders, when 


160 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


the latter, who, perchance, had been unlucky enough to 
fall into the hands of a Guardsman or Musketeer on pre- 
vious occasions, made off, with his coach, frightened out , 
of his wits, and shouting to me as he went that I had j 
cheated him, but that I had not heard the last of him. | 
I called out to him several times to stop, but in vain. 
His flight caused me the gravest uneasiness, for I felt 
certain that he would go and notify the Commissary. 

You have ruined me,’’ I said to Lescaut ; it will be 
unsafe for me to remain in your house ; we must leave 
this place at once.” 

I gave my arm to Manon, and we hastened away from 
a street that was now so full of danger for us. lescaut 
accompanied us. 


CHAPTER XII. 


There is something marvellous in the way in which 
Providence links one event with another. We had scarce- 
ly been walking- for more than five or six minutes when a 
man, whose features I could not distinguish, recognized 



Lescaut. He had evidentl}^ been searching for him in 
the neighborhood of his house, with the terrible purpose 
which he now carried into execution. 

Ah, Lescaut ! ’Tis you ! ” said he, discharging his 
pistol at him. ‘‘ You shall go and sup with the devil to- 
night ! ” 

With these words he turned and fled. Lescaut fell to 
the ground lifeless. 


162 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


I urged Manon to hasten away, for a dead man was be- / 
yond all need of aid from us, and I was in terror lest we 
should be arrested by the Watch, who would be sure to 
make their appearance before long. With her and the 
turnkey I turned into the first narrow street that crossed 
the one we were in. Manon was so completely prostrated 
by what had happened that it was with difficulty that I 
prevented her from falling. At last I saw a hackney car- 
riage at the end of the street. We got into it ; but when 
the driver asked me whither he should take us, I was at 
a loss for an answer. I knew Of no secure place of refuge, 
and of no trusty friend to whom I should be safe in appeal- > 



ing. I was almost penniless, having barely more than half 
a pistole in m^^ purse. Manon was so overcome with ter- 
ror and fatigue that she was nearly swooning beside me. 
My imagination, moreover, was filled with the murder of 
Lescaut, and I was not yet free from apprehension regard- 
ing the Watch. What was to be done ? 

By a happy inspiration I thought of the inn at Chaillot, 
at which I had spent some days with Manon when we 
first went to make our home in that village. There I 
hoped we might not only find a safe retreat, but be able 
to live for some time without being pressed for payment. 

‘‘Drive to Chaillot,” I said to the coachman. He re- 
fused to go there at so late an hour for less than a pis- 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


163 


tole — and I was ag'ain in a quandary. Finally we agreed 
upon six francs, which was all I had left in my purse. 

On our way I did my best to console Manon, but, in my 
secret heart, I was overwhelmed with despair. I should 
have resolved upon suicide, had I not held in my arms the 
one treasure that made life worth living. This thought 
alone gave me courage. 

‘‘ Come what may,’’ I said to myself, ‘‘ I at least pos- 
sess her now — she loves me — she is mine ! Let Tiherge 
talk as he will ; this is no mere delusive phantom of hap- 
piness. The rest of the universe might crumble to atoms 
before my eyes, and I should look unmoved upon the 
scene of destruction. And why ? Simply because I am 
utterly indifferent to all else that it contains ! ” 

Such were undoubtedly my actual sentiments; yet, 
even while setting such slight store on the goods of this 
world, I could not help realizing how necessary it was to 
possess some small share of them in order to regard all 
the rest with truly sovereign contempt. Love has a 
stronger hold on the heart than luxury, treasures, and 
wealth, but it cannot afford to despise their help; and 
nothing is more galling to a sensitive lover than to find 
that the lack of them is dragging him down, in spite of 
himself, to the level of the coarsest and most vulgar na- 
tures. 

It was eleven o’clock when we reached Chaillot. We 
were welcomed at the inn as old acquaintances. No sur- 
prise was expressed at Manon’s being in male attire, for 
in Paris and the surrounding neighborhood it is a common 
thing to see women in all sorts of disguises. 

I had her wants supplied as liberally as though I com- 
manded a well-filled purse. She was not aware of my 
penniless condition, and I took good care not to give her 
any inkling of it, as I had made up my mind to go back 


164 THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 

to Paris the next day and endeavor to find some remedy 
-for this most vexatious kind of ailment. 

At supper I observed that Manon looked pale and thin. 
This had escaped my notice at the Hopital, as the room 
in which I saw her was very dimly lighted. I asked her 
whether the whiteness of her cheeks was not a lingering 
result of the horror she had felt on seeing her brother 
murdered before her very eyes. She assured me that, 
deeply shocked as she had been by that awful event, her 
paleness w’as simply the effect of having undergone three 
months’ separation from me. 



You love me very dearly, then ? ” I asked. 

thousand times more dearly than I can express,” 
she responded. 

‘‘And you will never again desert me ? ” 

“Never, while I live!” was her reply; and she con- 
firmed this assurance by so many caresses and vows of 
constancy that it seemed indeed impossible that she could 
ever forget them. 

I have always been convinced that she was sincere : 
what motive could she have had for carrying duplicity to 
such a length as this? But sincere though she was, she 
was still more fickle, nay, it became impossible to say what 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


165 


she was — she did not know herself — when she beheld other 
women living* in affluence, and found that she had to face 
poverty and want. I was on the eve of receiving a final 
proof of this fact, which was to eclipse all the former ones, 
and to result in the most surprising adventure that ever 
befell a man of my rank and fortune. 

Knowing her disposition to be such as I have described 
I lost no time in starting for Paris on the morrow. The 
death of her brother, and the necessity of obtaining some 
linen and other clothes for her and myself, were such good 
reasons that I had no occasion to invent a pretext for go- 
ing. I left the inn, telling Manon and the landlord that I 



intended taking a hackney-coach ; but this, of course, was 
mere bravado on my part. As necessity compelled me to 
travel on foot, I walked very rapidly as far as the Cours- 
la-Reine, where I purposed resting for awhile. There 
was high need of my securing a few moments’ solitude 
and quiet in order to collect my thoughts and to decide 
upon what I was to do in Paris. I seated myself upon the 
grass, and was soon immersed in a sea of refiections and 
speculations, which gradually grouped themselves under 
three main heads : 

I had to obtain immediate assistance to enable me to 
provide for a host of present and pressing needs. 

I had to settle upon a course of action that would, at 


186 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAtlT. 


any rate, hold out some hope for the future ; and, though 
last, not least in importance, I had to make careful in- 
quiries and take whatever measures might he necessary 
for insuring Manon’s safety and my own. 

After exhausting my ingenuity in thinking out plans 
and contrivances to meet these three principal require- 
ments, I finally came to the conclusion that it would he as 
well to leave the latter two out of consideration for the 
time being. We were lodged comfortably enough in our 
room at Chaillot; while, as for future necessities, I de^ 
cided that it would he soon enough to think of them when 
I had provided for those of the moment. 

The immediate question, then, was how to replenish my 

purse. M. de T had generously offered me his, hut 

the idea of reminding him of the subject myself was ex- 
tremely repugnant to me. Could there be anything more 
humiliating than to go and lay hare one’s destitution to a 
stranger, and beg for charity from him ? To be capable 
of such an act one must have a soul so sordid as to pre- 
vent one’s realizing the degradation it would involve, or 
possess a Christian humility which, by the very excess of 
its nobility, lifts one above any such sense of shame. As 
I, for my part, was neither devoid of all self-respect, nor, 
on the other hand, a good Christian, I would have sacri- 
ficed half the blood in my veins to escape such humilia- 
tion. 

There is Tiberge, too,” I soliloquized ; ^Mie, good soul, 
vould refuse me nothing that it was in his power to grant. 
My distress would touch him to the heart, I know ; but he 
would weary me to death with his moralizing. I should 
have to submit to his reproaches, his exhortations, and his 
warnings; and in that way pay so dear a price for his 
assistance, that I would give the other half of my blood 
rather than expose myself to a scene so unpleasant in it- 


THE stohy of manon lfscaut. 


167 


self, and one which would be sure, moreover, to leave me 
full of ag’itation and remorse. “The conclusion, then, 
would seem to be,’’ I continued, “that I must renounce 
all hope, since there is no third alternative open to me, 
and since 1 am so little inclined to adopt these two that I 
would rather shed half my blood than accept either one of 
them ; all of it, that is to say, rather than accept them 
both.” 

“ Yes,” I added, after a moment’s reflection, “I cer- 
tainly would rather pour out my whole life’s blood than 
stoop to abject begging. But what, pray, has my blood 
to do with the question ? My present concern is to provide 



for Manon— to insure the continuance of her love and 
fidelity. Where is the consideration that can outweigh 
her in my mind ? None have ever 3 ='et done so. She is, to 
me, all that glory, happiness, and fortune are to other 
men ! 

“ There are, doubtless, many things which I would lay 
down my life to gain or to avoid ; but to value a thing 
more than my own life is no reason for prizing it as much 
as I do Manon.” 

This train of thought soon brought me to a decision. I 
rose and walked on, with the determination of first going 
to see Tiberge, and then M. de T . 

On reaching Paris, I took a hackney-carriage, in spite 
of the fact that I had no means of paying for it, trusting 


168 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


entirely to my success in obtaining the assistance I was 
about to solicit. Driving to the iMxemhourg, I sent 
word to Tiberge that I was awaiting him there. My 
impatience was gratified by the promptness with which 
he made his appearance. Without any waste of words, I 
told him of the extremity I was in. He asked me whether 
the hundred pistoles which I had repaid him would be suf- 
ficient to meet my wants, and then, without opposing a 
single word of objection, he hastened away to get them for 
me, with that ungrudging manner and that evident pleas- 



ure in making a gift Avhich are known only to love and to 
true friendship. 

Although I had not entertained the slightest doubt of 
his complying with my request, I was surprised at obtain- 
ing what I asked so cheaply — that is to say, without 
being upbraided for my continued impenitence. But I 
was mistaken in supposing that I was to escape his re- 
proaches altogether, for, when he had finished counting out 
the money to me, and I was about to leave him, he asked 
me to walk once or twice up and down the path with him. 
I had not mentioned Man on, and he was not aware 
that she was at liberty, so that his sermon had for its 
text only my rash flight from St. Lazare, and his own 
misgivings lest I should fail to profit by the virtuous 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


169 


teaching's which I had received there, and return to my 
vicious courses. 

He told me that he had gone to pay me a visit at St. 
Lazare the day after my escape, and had been inexpressi- 
bly shocked to hear of the way in which I had left it. He 
had had a conversation on the subject with the Superior. 
That worthy Father had not as yet recovered from the ef- 
fects of his fright ; hut he had, nevertheless, been generous 
enough to conceal the circumstances of my departure from 
the Lieutenant-General of Police, and had prevented the 



death of the porter from being noised abroad. I had thus 
nothing to fear from that quarter, continued Tiberge, but 
he added, if I had not lost all sense of rectitude, I would 
take advantage of the happy turn which Providence had 
given to my affairs, and begin a new life by writing to my 
father and effecting a reconciliation with him. He con- 
cluded by saying that, if I would for once be governed by 
his advice, he was of opinion that my wisest course would 
be to leave Paris and return to the bosom of my family. 

I heard him patiently to the end. There was a great 
deal in what he said that gave me no little satisfaction. 1 
was delighted, in the first place, to find that I need have 
no fears as far as St. Lazare was concerned. This made 
the streets of Paris free ground for me again. In the sec- 


170 


THE STORY OE MANON LESCAUT. 


ond place, I congratulated myself on the fact that Tiberge 
had not the vaguest suspicion of Manon’s escape and of 
her being with me once more. I even noticed that he had 
avoided mentioning her to me, under the impression, evi- 
dently, that she had lost her former hold on my heart, as 
I displayed so little anxiety regarding her. 

I resolved, if not to go home to my family, at least to 
follow Tiberge’ s advice so far as to write to ni}^ father, 
and intimate to him that I was anxious to return to the 
path of duty and of obedience to his wishes. My hope 
was that I might be able to induce him to send me some 
money, by, pretending that I required it in order to com- 
plete my course of study at the Academy ; for I knew that 
it would be useless for me to try to make him believe that 
I had any inclination to re-enter the Church. At bottom, 
moreover, I was by no means indisposed to keep the prom- 
ise I intended making him; I was glad, on the contrary, 
to see any prospect of occupying myself in some honorable 
and rational manner, as far as I could do so without preju- 
dice to my love. 

The plan I had in contemplation was to live with my 
mistress and to pursue my studies at the same time ; the 
two were perfectly compatible. I was so well satisfied 
with all these projects that I promised Tiberge that I 
would despatch a letter to my father that very day ; and, 
in fact, I had no sooner left him than I went into a public 
writing-office * and composed such an affectionate and du- 
tiful epistle that, on reading it over, I flattered myself that 
the paternal heart would be unable to resist my appeal. 

Although, on leaving Tiberge, I could have well af- 
forded to hire a coach, and pay for it, I took pleasure in 
walking proudly through the streets to M. de T ’s 


* Bureau d’ecriture. 


THE STORY OF MAHON LESOAUT. 


171 


house. I enjoyed a sense of delight in this exercise of 
my new-found liberty, which, as my friend had assured 
me, there was now no further danger of my losing. It 
suddenly occurred to me, however, that his assurances 
referred only to St. Lazare, and that, besides this, I had 
the affair of the Hopital still to answer for, not to men- 
tion the murder of Lescaut, in which I was concerned, if 
only as a witness. The recollection of these circum- 
stances so terrified me that I retreated into the nearest 
alley- way, and sent for a coach, in which 1 drove straight 
to M. de T ’s. He laughed heartily at my fright. 



and, indeed, I could not help smiling at it myself, when 
he informed me that there were no unpleasant conse- 
quences to he apprehended either from the Hopital ad- 
venture or Lescaut’s death. He told me that, thinking 
he might he suspected of having taken part in Manon’s 
abduction, he had gone to the Hopital that morning and 
asked to see her— pretending to know nothing of what had 
happened. So far from accusing either him or myself of 
any complicity in the affair, the authorities at the Hopital 
had eagerly related the whole occurrence to him, as an 
extraordinary piece of news ; and had expressed their 
astonishment that such a pretty girl as Manon should 


172 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


have concjescended to run awaj^ with a turnke}^ He had 
merely remarked, indifferently, that he was not surprised 
at it, as people would do anything* for the sake of liberty. 

M. de T went on to relate that he .had then gone to 

Lescaut’s lodgings, in the hope of finding me there with 
my charming mistress. The landlord of the house, who 
was a coach-builder, declared that he had seen nothing of 
either Manon or myself, adding that if we had been looking 
for Lescaut it was no wonder we had not been to his house, 
as we must doubtless have heard of his having been mur- 
dered at about the very time in question ; whereupon he 



had willingly proceeded to give all the particulars he 
knew regarding the cause and circumstances of Lescaut’s 
death. 

It seemed that, about two hours earlier in the evening, 
one of LescauHs friends— a Guardsman — had gone to see 
him, and had proposed a game of cards. Lescaut had won 
so rapidly that within an hour the other had parted with a 
hundred crowns^in other words, with all the money he pos- 
sessed. The unfortunate fellow, finding himself penniless, 
had begged Lescaut to lend him half the sum which he 
had lost. This had given rise to some dispute, the upshot 
of which was a violent quarrel between them. Lescaut 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


173 


refused to go out and settle it at the point of the sword, 
and the other left him, swearing to shoot him down like a 
dog when the 3 ^ met again— a threat which he had carried 

out that very evening. M. de T had the courtesy to 

add that he had felt much uneasiness on our account, and 
that I must continue to count upon his serving me in any 
way that he could. I did not hesitate to inform him of 
our place of retreat. He begged that I would permit him 
to go and take supper with us. 

As 1 had nothing further to attend to, beyond obtain- 
ing some dresses and linen for Manon, I told him that we 



might start at once, if he would have the goodness to stop 
with me for a few moments at one or two shops. I do 
not know whether he thought that I made this proposition 
with a view to exciting his generosity, or whether it was 
simply from the impulse of a noble heart; but, having 
consented to set out immediately, he took me to the shops 
at which his family dealt, and insisted on m^^ selecting 
several much more costly stuffs than it had been my in- 
tention to buy ; and when I was about to pay for them, 
he forbade the shop-keepers, in the most positive terms, 
to accept a penny from me. 

This kindly act was performed with such good grace, 


174 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


that I felt I might profit by it without a blush. We then 
started together for Chaillot, where I arrived in a less 
anxious frame of mind than I had been in on leaving- there 
that morning-. 


As the above narrative had occupied the Chevalier des 
Grieux more than an hour in the telling-, I begg-ed him to 
pause awhile for rest, and to favor us with his company 
at supper. Our close attention g-ave him every reason to 
believe that we had listened to him with pleasure. He as- 
sured us that we should find the sequel of his story even 
more interesting ; and, as soon as we had finished supper, 
he continued as follows. 


END OF THE FIRST PART. 


THE STORY OF MAHON LESCAUT. 


PART SECOND. 


A-'* 


^ » ►v <» 




^ . fc/ 




\ 


I J': . 




• * S , ' .;- 

4. ' . •, 




0^ 


•V/ 


.j»* ■* -'i.’'* 

T < " 

• >1 . 


’ *>. 


s 

.7 .-'■/ 


'*’V. 


'.t- 

f 


?r . 


i' '• ^ 


' # 

• « 

V 

■ i' ; 


4 

^ III 


I ^ 


V'3 


.-t 



• , .' ' • 


> ."» 
• »*• 


t 




k- . 


■ ^,^s>y^ry . 

.'x-j-'r ■ .r V, / 

- -x , ■ 

- ; v-r-' 


._'^ • ^ . Afcj' . 



i2'-r'r i ^ . . ' • . ■0*’ . V ^ f ^ ' ■ . 

' •' ' •; • .„ r*--* JH ’*.V'" •: ^ • V- 

N. • ' - •. f , * • . . \ • • 






k> 




? . ,<■ .. ■ 


• « • 


. * .' * ’*- 

,-* >-v. 


r2 J«i<W!#-v,.>v. . ,V/, .-,, 


-Vn’ ;■ 

Ku • ’* 

XA-V- •• .' 


:v 



( . 


•f 


.«r. - 


-. - . ;<r.' 


« ■ » 



., - VX J, . 


' ,■'"■' i$^lv Vv>‘v 



,♦ % *. -^ yTr 


* I , , 

• ■ I ) . ' 

.. V-^. V ^ 

C i 4. , * ,.% • * . • • ^ . 




Gi 


' •. •* 

t • /-> 


V* 




ir • t:, ; .v.-v vLy^^*y. '.-^ 

* A , t .A •' « 

• ' -V A ^ , •' 




V" 


^ > 


'll' 

\\ 


4 


•s 

J 


I 


■ 7^. 


1 » » 




■ r 




% • 




/ *♦ # ■ w 
:;'•: ’• ; 


V J - 
* 

ft 


iV'. , 


S 


- ^ 

. ■>' 

.. ♦ ' '*•.' . 


A 


A 

>» 1 


f . 

. r 


• ■ # 


■«> ft 


] 


• A -ft . 


If 


Tv 


i? 


>-' 


^ V . ' 

k 


•t •' 







■ > 


A 


f ’ < % fw' *; I » 

4:;.*. V -t- 

. < - L. fli :• 

’ • w*. *. ’■> . . * >***Wv>r *A. 

A-V. ** ••■- w 


\.- 


-'ll* 

> ^ 

^.T'V 




•i* ■ ‘' 

-A *•>! 


-• I* X ►, 


# * A 


$5* 


I ♦# ft ’ 




’- ' >1 


.4. V ^ /-. r 


'• A 


. ^ » 


I. 


p • 



• ■ ft.- • . . ' : ' • ' -7' . ^ ; - -• • •'' '• 

v-y . ' 'Esnni' 

■ *4. .>' .• 1.:. • ' WmSmK 


.< 
V 


i.'t 


i 

i ■ 




V £#^2 


• . 


I— ■ Jt , . . .4_iV 


V V 



I « <. 

«; 



\ ‘ 


'. / V 


\ 




' - A - I 

V\4 i-v-'XCt 


I*. 


'v*/V ":• - r 

• t. oV ^ r. 






My preseiK e and the courteous attentions of Monsieur 

de T s ton dissipated anj^ lingering- sadness that 

Manon may have felt. 

^^Let us forget all our past troubles, dear heart,” I 
said to her on my return, and begin a new life of greater 
happiness than we have ever known. Love is a kind mas- 
ter, after all. The pleasures which he gives us more than 
outweigh all the trials that Fortune can send.” 

Our supper was a scene of perfect joy. I was prouder 
and happier with Manon and my hundred pistoles than 
the richest Partisan * of Paris amid his heaps of gold. 

The true way in which to estimate our wealth is hy the 
means we possess of gratifying our desires. I had not 
one that was unsatisfied. Even the future gave me little 
anxiety. I felt almost sure that my father would make 
no difficulty about giving me money enough to live com- 
fortably at Paris, as, being then in my twentieth year, I 


* Partisan: a farmer of taxes. — T ranslator. 


178 


THE STORY OF 3IANON LESCAUT. 


would soon be entitled to claim my share of my mother’s 
property. I did not hide from Manon the fact that one 
hundred pistoles formed the whole of my present capital. 
This was enoug-h to enable me to wait with an easy mind 
for some addition to my means, which there seemed every 
prospect of my obtaining, either by right of inheritance, 
or from the resources of the card-table. 

Thus, for the first few weeks, I gave myself up to the 
enjoyment of my situation. A controlling sense of honor, 
as well as a lingering dread of the police, led me to defer 
from day to day the renewal of mj^ relations with the 
fraternity of the Hotel de Transilvanie, and I contented 
myself with playing in some assemblies of less unenviable 
notoriety, where Fortune so favored me as to spare me 
the humiliation of resorting to the tricks of the sharper. 

I spent part of every afternoon in town, returning to 
Chaillot for supper, very often accompanied by M. de 

T , whose friendship for us grew warmer every day. 

Manon found distractions which prevented the hours from 
hanging heavily on her hands. She made the acquaint- 
ance of several young women in the neighborhood, whom 
the arrival of spring had attracted to the village ; and, 
what between walks and the various little diversions of 
their sex, they beguiled the time pleasantly enough. 

They made up a party at cards, playing always for 
limited stakes, and devoting the winnings to defra^^ the 
expense of hiring a coach. They drove out daily to enjoy 
the air in the Bois de Boulogne, and, on my return of an 
evening, I always found Manon lovelier, happier, and 
more devoted than ever. 

Some clouds arose, however, which seemed to lower 
threateningly over the fabric of my happiness. But the;s^ 
were quickly dispelled ; and the upshot of the affair was 
rendered so comical by Manon ’s frolicsome humor, that I 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


179 


still recur with pleasure to a recollection which brings her 
once more before me with all her tenderness and all the 
charming sprightliness of her disposition. 

Our valet (the only servant we had) took me aside one 
day and told me, with an air of great embarrassment, 
that he had an important secret to impart to me. I en- 
couraged him to speak out freely. After some beating 
about the bush, he gave me to understand that there was 
a certain foreigner of rank who seemed to have become 
deeply enamoured of Miss Manon. 



I felt the blood go boiling through every vein in my 
body. 

‘‘Does she return his passion?’’ I asked sharply, for- 
getting all considerations of prudence in my anxiety to 
learn the truth at once. 

My sudden display of temper disconcerted the man ; he 
replied uneasily that he had not carried his observations 
far enough to be able to answer that question. He had 
noticed, however, for some days past, that this foreigner 
made a habit of coming regularly to the Bois de Boulogne, 
where, alighting from his carriage, he would roam about 
alone among the by-paths, apparently watching for an 
opportunity of catching a glimpse of Miss Manon or of 


180 


THE STORY 01 MAN ON LESCAUT, 


meeting her. This had led him to strike up an acquaint- 
ance with the stranger’s servants, in order to find out 
from them who their master was. They had given him to 
understand that he was an Italian Prince/ and that they 
suspected him themselves of being engaged in some gallant 
adventure. This, added the valet, nervously, was all he 
had been able to learn, as the Prince had sauntered out 
from under the trees at that moment, and accosting him 
pleasantly, had asked him his name, and then, as if guess- 
ing him to be in our service, had congratulated him on 
being employed by so charming a lady. 

I waited impatiently to hear the rest of his story ; but 
he came to a stop, with some timid excuses, which I at- 
tributed merely to my imprudent exhibition of^emper. I 
urged him in vain to continue and to conceal nothing from 
me. He protested that he knew no more, saying that, as 
all he had just told me had occurred only the day before, 
he had not yet had another opportunity of seeing the 
Prince’s servants 

In order to reassure him, I not only praised him for 
what he had done, but rewarded him liberally ; and then, 
without allowing him to suppose that I entertained the 
slightest suspicion of Manon, I instructed him, in a calmer 
tone, to keep a watch on all the foreigner’s proceedings. 

In reality, the fellow’s timidity left me a prey to the 
cruellest uncertainty, for I was afraid that it might have 
led him to suppress part of the truth. However, after 
some reflection, I recovered from my alarm sufficiently to 
regret that I had yielded to such weakness. I could not 
justly blame Manon for the fact that some one had chosen 
to fall in love with her. According to all appearance she 
was herself ignorant of the conquest she had made ; and 
what was m^^ life to become if I were so readily to open 
my heart to the inroads of jealousy ? 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


181 


I went back to Paris the next day without having 
formed any other resolution than that of hastening the 
advancement of my fortunes by playing for higher stakes, 
so that I might be in a position to leave Chaillot the mo- 
ment I saw any cause for uneasiness. That evening I 
heard nothing to disturb my peace of mind. The foreign 
Prince had again made his appearance in the Bois de Bou- 
logne, and, on the strength of the previous day’s occur- 
rences, had once more drawn my informant into conversa- 
tion. He had alluded to his passion, but in terms which 



did not presuppose any understanding with Manon, and 
had questioned the man closely on a number of points. 
Finally, he had endeavored to buy him over to his inter- 
ests by promises of rich reward ; and, drawing from his 
pocket a letter which he had in readiness for the occasion, 
he had offered him several louis d’or to place it in his 
mistress’s hands — ^but in vain. 

Two days went by without any further incident. The 
third was more stormy. On returning from town some- 
what later than usual, I learned that, while out walking, 
Manon had separated herself from her companions for a 
few moments. The stranger, who was following close be- 
hind her, had approached, in obedience to a sign from her^ 


182 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


and she had handed him a letter, which he had received 
with every evidence of delight. The only expression of 
his feeling's which he had had time to g'ive was to press 
the lines amorously to his lips, as she had at once hastened 
away from him. But she had been in unusually high 
spirits all the rest of the day ; nor had this mood deserted 
her since her return to the house. 

I shuddered, not doubting a word of my valet’s story. 

Are you quite sure,” I asked him sadly, ‘Hhat your 
eyes were not deceiving you ? ” 



He appealed to Heaven to confirm the truth of what he 
had told me. 

There is no saying what I might not have done in the 
anguish of my heart, had not Manon heard me at the 
door and run impatiently to meet me, and reproach me 
for my tardiness. Without waiting for my reply, she 
loaded me with caresses, and, as soon as we were alone 
together, upbraided me sharply for having fallen into the 
habit of returning home so late. 

My silence leaving her free to continue, she told me that 
for three weeks I had not spent one whole day with her, 
and that she could not bear these long absences of mine. 
She begged me to devote to her at least one day every 


THE STOjxY of MjiNON LESCAUT. 


183 


now and ag’ain ; and added that on the morrow, to heg'in 
with, she wished to have me with her from morning’ to 
night. 

And I shall be, you may depend upon it,’’ answered 
I, morosely enough. 

She did not appear to notice my ill-humor ; and, in the 
exuberance of her delight, which struck me as unusually 
lively, even for her, she gave me a series of amusing 
descriptions of how she had passed the day. 

‘‘Strange girl! ” I muttered to myself; “what am I 
to expect from this prelude ? ” 

The circumstances of our first separation recurred to 
my mind ; but I thought that, behind all- her gayety and 
caresses, there was to be detected a certain tone of sin- 
cerity which accorded well with the indications of her 
manner. 

I readily accounted for my dejection, which I could not 
banish all through our supper, by attributing it to heavy 
losses which, I told her, I had been unlucky enough to 
suffer at play. 

I regarded it as a circumstance very much in my favor 
that the idea of my remaining at Chaillot the following 
day had been suggested by Manon herself. I thus gained 
time for deliberation. 

The fact that I should be on the spot relieved me of all 
fears for the morrow; and I had already made up my 
mind that, if I saw nothing to necessitate my making my 
discoveries known, I would the next day remove my whole 
establishment to town, and to a quarter where I should be 
safe from the intrusion of meddlesome princes. Thanks 
to this arrangement, I passed a comparatively peaceful 
night ; but it did not save me from the pain I could not 
but feel at having reason to fear a fresh instance of incon- 
stancy on the part of my mistress. 


184 


THE STOBY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


When 1 awoke, Maiion declared that though the day 
was to he passed in our lodgings, she by no means intend- 
ed that I should make that an excuse for a careless toilet ; 
and she added that she meant to dress my hair with her 
own hands. I boasted a fine head of hair ; and this was 
an amusement in which she had more than once indulged. 
On this occasion, however, she devoted more care to the 
task than I had ever seen her take before. 

To gratify her I was obliged to seat myself before her 
dressing-table and to submit to all the little embellish- 



ments which her fancy devised for my adornment. Dur- 
ing the progress of her work, she would every now and 
again make me turn my face towards her, and, resting 
her hands upon my shoulders, subject me to an eager 
scrutiny. Then — expressing her satisfaction by one or two 
kisses — she would make me resume my former position, 
and would proceed with her task. This diversion kept us 
pleasantly engaged until dinner-time. Her delight in it 
seemed so unaffected, and her gayety so free from simula- 
tion, that, unable to reconcile such appearances of con- 
stancy with the project of a base betrayal on her part, I 
was more than once tempted to unbosom myself to her, 
and relieve my mind of a burden which was beginning to 
weigh very heavily upon it. But I indulged the hope, as 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


185 


moment after moment went by, that the avowal would 
come from her own lips ; and I revelled by anticipation in 
the exquisite sense of triumph that would then be mine. 

We went back to her dressing--room, where she was 
putting- the finishing touches to my hair, and 1 was good- 
humoredly yielding to her every whim, when the servant 

came to announce that the Prince of desired to see 

her. The mention of that name threw me into a violent 
rage. 

What does this mean ? ” I cried, thrusting her from 
me. ‘‘Who and what is this Prince ? ’’ 



She made no response to my questions, but said coolly 
to the valet : “ Show him upstairs.” Then she turned to 
me and added in a beAvitching tone, “ My own dear love, 
bear with me for one moment, I beg of you — for just one 
single moment ! Do but consent and I will love you a 
thousandfold more than ever. Grant me this favor, and 
you shall have my lifelong gratitude ! ” 

I was speechless with surprise and indignation. She 
renewed her entreaties, and I was casting about for fitting 
words of scorn with which to reject them, when, hearing 
the door of the outer room thrown open, she seized my 
hair — which was hanging loosely over m}^ shoulders — in 
one hand, took her looking-glass in the other, and, exert- 
ing her whole strength in the effort, dragged me, just as 


186 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


I was, to the door of the dressing’-room, which she pushed 
open with her knee, and thus presented me to the strang-er, 
whom the noise, apparently, had hroug*ht to a stand-still 
in the middle of the room, a spectacle which must have 
caused him no little astonishment. 

The man I saw before me was very richly dressed, hut 
had a decidedly ill-favored face. Notwithstanding- his em- 
barrassment at the scene I have just described, he made 
a profound bow, but Manon did not allow him time to 
open his lips. Holding her looking-glass before his face, 
she said to him : 



There, sir, take a good look at yourself, and do me 
justice. You ask me for my love. Here is the man 
whom I love, and have sworn to love all my life. Make 
the comparison for yourself. If ^mu think to rival him in 
my heart, pray tell me on what grounds ; for I beg to 
assure you that, in the eyes of your humble servant, all 
the Princes of Italy together are not worth a single one 
of the hairs w'hich I am now holding in my hand 1 ” 
During this madcap speech, which was evidently pre- 
meditated on her part, I was vainly struggling to free 
myself, for the sight of a man of his rank in such a posi- 
tion excited my compassion, and I was anxious to atone 
for this petty insult by my own courteous apologies. 


THE STOMY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


187 


But, quickly recovering* his self-possession, he banished 
any such inclination from my mind hy the coarseness of 
his retort. 

Yes, mademoiselle,’’ he said to Manon, with a forced 
Smile ; my eyes have indeed been opened, and I find that 
you are mucli less of a novice than I had supposed.” 

Tlien, without favoring her with so much as a glance, 
he turned and left the room, adding in an undertone as he 
went out, that French wmmen were no better than Italian. 
Under the circumstances I was not at all anxious to con- 
vert him to a liigher opinion of the fair sex. 

Releasing my hair from her grasp, Mancn threw her- 



self into an arm-chair, and made the room re-echo with 
peal after peal of laughter. I did not attempt to conceal 
how deeply I was touched by a sacrifice which I could 
ascribe only to the promptings of her affection for me. 
Yet I felt that the jest had been carried too far, and ex- 
pressed my disapproval of it. She then told me the whole 
tale, how my rival had laid siege to her for several days 
in the Bois de Boulogne, ogling and simpering at her 
until it was impossible for her to mistake the nature of 
liis' sentiments ; how, at last, he had gone so far as to 
send her an open declaration of his passion, with his name 
and all his titles duly set forth, in a letter, the delivery of 
which he had entrusted to the coachman who drove her 
and her companions on their daily outings. In this epistle 


188 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


he had made her dazzling promises of wealth and of life- 
long devotion on his part, if she would follow him to his 
home beyond the Alps. She had come back to Chaillot, 
she said, fully determined to inform me of the whole ad- 
venture ; but it had occurred to her that we might derive 
some amusement from the affair ; and this fancy afforded 
such irresistible attraction to her mind that she had 
replied very graciously to the Italian prince’s letter, and 
granted him permission to pay her a visit. She had en- 
joyed the further diversion, she added, of making me fall 
in with the plot without allowing me to have the remotest 
suspicion of what was going on. 

I said nothing about the enlightenment I had obtained 
from another source ; and, intoxicated as I was by this 
triumph of love, I heartily applauded all that she had 
done. 


CHAPTER XIV. 


\ 


Throughout my life I have observed that Providence 
has invariably selected those periods when my fortunes 
have apparently been established on the firmest of foun- 
dations, to inflict its severest chastisements upon me. 

With M. de T ’s friendship and Manon’s affection, my 

cup of happiness seemed so full, that no one could have 
persuaded me that there was any fresh misfortune in 
store for me. Yet there was one impending- at that 
moment so disastrous in its consequences tha,t it reduced 
me to the condition in which you saw me at Passy, and 
eventually to such deplorable extremities that you will 
find it difficult as you hear them to believe in the truth of 
my story. 

One eveping M. de T was supping with us, when we 

heard a coach rattle up to the door of the inn, and stop. 
Our curiosity was excited as to who could be arriving at 
that late hour. Upon inquiry we found that it was young 

Monsieur de G M ; no other, in fact, than the son 

of our cruellest enemy, the old voluptuary who had incar- 
cerated me at Saint Lazare, and sent Man on to the Hopi- 
tal, I flushed with anger as I heard his name. 

just Heaven has brought him here,” I said to M. de 


190 


THE STORY OF 3IANON LESCAUT. 


T , that I punish him for his father’s villain}^ ! 

He shall not escape me until we have measured swords 
together ! ” 

M. de T , who knew him, and who, indeed, was one 

of his most intimate friends, endeavored to inspire me 
with more amicable sentiments towards him. He assured 
me that he was a young man of exceedingly amiable char- 
acter ; and so far from being capable of having taken any 
share in his father’s proceedings, that even I, were I to 
he in his company for a few minutes, could not fail to 
accord him my esteem and to desire that he should give 
me his. 



After adding a great deal more in his favor, M. de T- 

begged that I would permit him to go and invite his friend 
to join us, and to partake of what was left of our supper. 
He met the objection as to the risk to which we should be 
exposing Manon in making her whereabouts known to 
our enemy’s son, b}^ protesting on his faith and honor 

that when once young G M knew us, we should 

have no more zealous champion than he. In the face of 
such positive assurances I made no further difficulty. 
Before bringing him to us, M. de T had a few min- 

utes’ conversation with him in private, and told him who 
we were. His manner on entering the room certainly 
prepossessed us in his favor. 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


191 


After exchanging* salutations, we sat down. He was 
eloquent in his admiration of Manon, of myself, and of 
everything belonging to us ; and he ate with an appetite 
that did honor to our supper. As soon as the table was 
cleared, the conversation took a more serious turn. With 
downcast eyes, he spoke of his father’s cruel behavior to- 
wards us, and expressed the deepest regret for all that 
we had suffered at his hands. 

If I do not prolong my apologies,” said he, I beg 
you to believe that it is only because I am loath to revive 
a recollection which is fraught with so much humiliation 
for m^^self.” 

However sincere his contrition may have been at first, 
it became much more so as the evening wore on; for 
he had not been with us half an hour before I began to 
perceive the impression which Manon’s charms were mak- 
ing upon him. His glances and his manner towards her 
gradually grew more and more tender ; although, during 
the whole conversation, he did not betray his sentiments 
by a word. But, even without any aid from jealousy, 
I was too well versed in the ways of love to be blind to 
the most trivial indications arising from that source. 

Young G M remained in our company until 

late in the evening, and before taking his leave, he told 
us that he congratulated himself upon his good fortune 
in making our acquaintance, and hoped that we would 
permit him to come and see us occasionally, so that he 
might have more than one opportunity of assuring us of 
his desire to serve us in any way in his power. He left in 
the morning, taking M. de T in his coach with him. 

As I have already remarked, I felt no inclination to be 
jealous. I trusted to Manon’s vows with more credulity 
than ever. Such absolute dominion did that lovely being 
hold over my heart that I had not a trace of any other 


193 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


feelings than those of esteem and affection toward her. 
So far from blaming her for having fascinated young 

G M , I was pleased beyond measure at the effect 

of her charms ; and plumed myself upon being loved by a 
girl who was the admiration of all who beheld her. I did 
not even think it worth while to confide my suspicions 
to her. 

For some days after this we were busily engaged in 
putting her wardrobe in order, and in discussing the ques- 
tion of whether we might venture to go to the Comedie 
without fear of being recognized. M. de T paid us 



another visit before the end of the week, and we consulted 
him in the matter. He saw that Manon’s heart was set 
upon going, and that nothing would please her but that 
he should say yes.’’ So we decided to go with him that 
very evening. Our decision was not destined to be carried 

into effect, however, for M. de T drew me aside a 

moment afterwards, and said : 

I have been in the deepest perplexity since I last saw 

you, and my visit to you to-day is one result of it. G 

M has fallen in love with your mistress, and has con- 

fided his passion to me. 1 am his bosom friend, and ready 
to do him any service he may ask ; but I am no less a 
friend of yours. His intentions appearing to me dishonor- 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


193 


able, I expressed my strong* disapprobation of them. I 
should have kept his secret for him, had it been his de- 
sign to employ only the ordinary methods of winning a 
lady’s favor, but he has an accurate knowledge of Manon’s 
peculiar character, having discovered — by what means I 
cannot say — her fondness for wealth and pleasure ; and, 
as he is already in the enjoyment of a considerable fortune, 
he means, he informed me, to begin b^^ tempting her with 
a very handsome present, and the offer of an allowance 
of ten thousand francs. 

Had all things been equal, it might have cost me, per- 



haps, a much greater struggle to betray his confidence ; 
but considerations of justice as well as of friendship 
decided me in your favor ; especially as, having been the 
imprudent cause of his passion, by introducing him here, 
1 felt that it lay upon me to avert any ill-consequences 
of the mischief 1 have occasioned.” 

I thanked M. de T for rendering me so important a 

service; and, returning his confidence unreservedly, I 

owned that Manon’s character was such as G M 

supposed it to be ; that is to say, that she could not endure 
the very mention of poverty. 

However,” I said, ‘‘when it is merely a question of 
more or less, I do not think her capable of deserting me 


194 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


for another. I am in a position to see that she wants for 
nothing*, and I have every reason to believe that my for- 
tunes will improve from day to day. There is hut one 

thing I fear/’ I added, ‘^and that is that G M 

may avail himself of his knowledge of our whereabouts 
to do us some ill- turn.” 

M. de T assured me that I need he under no appre- 
hension on that score. G ^ M , he said, was capa- 

ble of any folly in the name of love, hut not of an act of 
baseness. Were he to stoop so low as to commit one,” 

continued M. de T , would myself be the first to 

punish him for it, and so atone for my unfortunate share 
in occasioning it.” 

I am obliged to you for this kind expression of your 
feeling,” I replied, ‘‘but the mischief would have been 
done, and the remedy would be of doubtful benefit to us. 
I think, therefore, that our wisest plan is to avoid any such 
trouble by leaving Chaillot and taking up our residence 
elsewhere.” 

“No doubt,” responded my friend ; “ but you will be 
hard put to it to get away as speedily as the circumstan- 
ces require ; for G M is to be here by noon to-day. 

He told me so yesterday, and that was my reason for com- 
ing at such an early hour to apprise you of his intentions. 
He may arrive at any moment.” 

With such short warning, the case became urgent, and 
forced me to consider it in a more serious light. To escape 

G M ’s visit was manifestly impossible ; and it 

would doubtless be no less impossible for me to prevent 
his declaring his passion to Manon. In this dilemma, I de- 
cided to put her on her guard myself against the designs 
of this new rival. I imagined that if she knew me to be 
aware of the proposals which he was about to make to her, 
and received them under my very eyes, she would have 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


195 


sufficient strength of mind to reject them I confided my 

thoughts to M. de T , who expressed his opinion that it 

would he an extremely delicate matter to manage success- 
fully. 

/'I do not deny that it will he/’ said I ; hut no man 
could have more reasons for being sure of his mistress 
than I have for relying on the affection of mine. If she 
could he tempted at all, it would he because she was daz- 
zled by the splendor of the offers made to her ; and, as I 
have already told you, she is not of a mercenary nature. 
She loves her comfort ; hut she loves me too ; and while 



my affairs are in as prosperous a condition as they are at 
present, I cannot believe that she would choose the son of 
a man who had her immured in the Hopital, in preference 
to myself.” 

In short, I adhered to my original purpose, and, draw- 
ing Marion aside, frankly told her all that I had just 
learned. 

She thanked me for my good opinion of her, and prom- 
ised me that she would receive G M ’s proposals in 

a fashion that would leave him no desire to renew them in 
the future. 

No,” said I, ‘Gt will not do to anger him by an af- 
front. It lies in his power to injure us. But, you sweet 
rogue,” I added, with a laugh, ‘^you know well enough 


196 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


how to rid yourself of an unacceptable or importunate 
lover.” 

After musing’ for a few moments, she exclaimed : 

have it. I have thought of an admirable plan, and 

I am quite proud of my ingenuity. G M , you see, 

is the son of our bitterest enemy. We must be revenged 
on the father, not, indeed, through the son himself, but 
through the son’s purse. What I mean to do is to listen 
to his proposals, accept his presents, and then leave him 
in the lurch.” 

pretty enough project, doubtless,” I said, but you 



seem to forget, my poor girl, that this is the very same 
road which led us straight to the Hopital.^’ 

In vain did I point out to her the danger of doing as she 
proposed. She insisted that it would be only necessary 
for us to play our cards well ; and found a ready answer 
to every objection that I urged. 

Show me the lover who does not blindly humor every 
caprice in the woman he adores, and I will admit that I 
was to blame in yielding so readily. However that may 

be, it was agreed between us that G M should be 

made our dupe ; whereas, by a strange turn of fate, I be- 
came his instead. 

His coach drew up at the door at about eleven o’clock. 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT 197 

He apologized gracefully for the liberty he was taking in 
inviting himself to dine with us ; and expressed no sur- 
prise on seeing M. de T , who, in fact, had promised him 

the day before that he would be present, and had only 
avoided coming in the same coach with him by excus- 
ing himself under pretext of having some business to 
attend to. 

In spite of the fact that we were one and all harboring 
treachery in our hearts, we took our places at the table 
with every appearance of mutual confidence and good-will. 
G M easily found an opportunity of declaring his 



sentiments to Manon. He had no reason to think me any- 
thing but complaisant, as I purposely left the room for 
some little time. I could see, when I returned, that his 
suit had not been received with such severe disfavor as to 
drive him to despair. On the contrary, he was in the best 
of humors, and I affected to be in equally high spirits. He, 
of course, was laughing in his sleeve at my simplicity, and 
I at his. Each of us was a most diverting spectacle for the 
other during the whole of that afternoon. Before he left, 
I again contrived to allow him a few moments’ private 
conversation with Manon ; so that he had every cause to 
congratulate himself upon my accommodating disposi- 
tion, as well as on the good cheer he had enjoyed. 


198 


THE STOBY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


No sooner had he stepped into his coach with M. de T , 

than Manon ran with open arms towards me, and catch- 
ing me in her embrace, gave vent to her mirth in peals of 
laughter. She repeated to me, word for word, all the 
speeches and proposals he had favored her with. The up- 
shot of them was this : He adored her ; he desired to 
share with her the income of forty thousand livres which 
he was now enjoying, not to speak of his expectations after 
his father’s death ; she was to be mistress of his heart and 
fortune, and, as an earnest of his bounty, he was ready at 
once to give her a coach, a furnished house, a maid, three 
footmen, and a cook. 

Here is a son, it must be owned, whose ideas of gener- 
osity are very different from his father’s,” I said to Ma- 
non ; but, to be candid with me,” I added, are you not 
tempted by these offers ? ” 

? ” she responded, adapting two verses of Racine’s to 
express her thought : 

* “ I ! capable of perfidy so base ? 

I ! willing to behold that hated face, 

Which, whene’er forced on my reluctant view, 

Doth mem’ries of the Hopital renew?” 

“ No,” I went on, continuing the parody : 

“ The Hopital was scarce Love’s shaft, to trace 
Upon your heart the image of his face. 


* “ Moi ! vous me soup9onnez de cette perfidie? 

Moi ! je pourrais souffrir un visage odieux 
Qui rappelle toujours 1’ Hopital a mes yeux ? ” 

“ J’aurais peine a penser que THopital, Madame, 

Ffit un trait dont 1’ Amour I’eut grave dans votre ame.*' 


The pun on the word trait is almost untranslatable.— T r. 


The story of manon lescavt. 


199 


Ye'^a furnished house, with a coach and three lackeys, is 
an arrow feathered with g’reat seductions, and Cupid has 
few as strong- in all his quiver.” 

She protested that I had possession of her heart forever, 
and that no image hut my own should ever he graven 
upon it. 

‘‘The promises he made me,” she said, “are goads to 
vengeance, rather than shafts of love.” 

I asked her whether she intended to accept the house 
and coach. She replied that his money was all that she 
had designs upon. The difficulty w^as to get possession of 



the one without the others. We decided to await the full 

disclosure of G M ’s plans, which he w^as to make 

in a letter he had promised to write her. It was duly de- 
livered to her the next day by a footman out of livery, 
who managed very adroitly to procure an opportunity of 
speaking to her unobserved. Telling him to wait for an 
answer, she brought the letter to me at once, and we 
opened it together. 

In addition to the usual tender commonplaces, it con- 
tained my rival’s promises set forth in full detail. He 
lavished his wealth with no niggard hand, pledging himself 
to count down to her ten thousand francs upon her taking 
possession of the house, and to make up that sum as fast as 


200 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAVT. 


it was spent, so that she should always have it available 
in ready money. Her installation was not to be long* de- 
layed. He only asked her for two days in which to make 
the necessary preparations, and gave her the address of 
the house, promising to be there to meet her on the after- 
noon of the second day following, if she could succeed in 
giving me the slip. 

This last was the only point as to which he begged her 
to set his mind at rest. He seemed to be quite sure of 
everything else, but he added that if she anticipated any 



difficulty in eluding my vigilance, he would find some 
mean of facilitating her escape. 

G M was more wary than his father ; he evi- 

dently meant to have his prey securely in his grasp before 
he loosened his purse-strings. 

We held a consultation as to the course Manon should 
pursue. I endeavored once more to dissuade her from 
carrying out her project, but nothing could shake her 
purpose. 

She wrote a short reply to G M , assuring him 

that she would have no difficulty in getting to Paris on 
the day he named, and that he might expect her without 
fail. We then arranged that I should start out at once 
to engage new lodgings in some village on the other side 



TBE STORY OF MAN ON LBSCAUT. 


201 


of Paris, taking" with me such few belongings as we had ; 
and that early the following afternoon — which was the 
time appointed for their meeting — she would go into town, 

where, after receiving the presents from G M , she 

was to beg him as a special favor to take her to the Come- 
die. She was to carry to the theatre as much of the 
money as she could secrete about her person, entrusting 
the rest to our valet, whom she intended to have with her. 
He was the same man who had assisted her to escape 
from the Hopital, and was devotedly attached to us. 

I was to he at the end of the Bue Saint- Andre-des- Arcs 
with a hackney-coach, and, at about seven o’clock, was to 
leave it waiting there and make my way, under cover of 
the darkness, to the entrance of the Comedie. Manon 
promised to find some pretext for leaving her box for a 
few moments, and to seize the opportunity to come down 
and join me. The rest would he easy to manage. In an 
instant we should have leaped into the coach, and would 
be hurrying out of Paris by way of the Faubourg Saint- 
Antoine, which would take us in the direction of our new 
lodgings. 

Wildly impracticable as was this project, we thought it 
admirably planned. As a matter of fact, we were guilty 
of the maddest imprudence in allowing ourselves to sup- 
pose that, even if it should meet with complete success, we 
could ever put ourselves beyond reach of pursuit. We 
risked all the consequences, however, with reckless te- 
merity. 


CHAPTER XY. 


It was with a heavy heart that I saw Manon start for 
Paris with Marcel, our valet. As I kissed her g-ood-hye 
I could not help exclaiming : 

‘‘You are not deceiving me, Manon ? You Avill he faith- 
ful to me ? ’’ 



She reproached me tenderly for my suspicions, and re- 
iterated all her vows of constanc3^ 

She expected to arrive in town at about three o’clock. 
I left soon after her, and went to the Cafe de Fere on the 
Pont Saint-Michel, to while away the remainder of the 
afternoon as best I could. I stayed there until dusk. 
Then I went out and took a hackney-coach, which I left 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


208 


standing*, as we had arranged, at the head of the Rue 
Saint- Andre-des- Arcs, while I proceeded on foot to the 
doors of the Comedie. I was surprised not to find Marcel 
awaiting me there, as he was to have done. However, I 
nursed my impatience for an hour, mingling with a crowd 
of footmen, and keeping a sharp look-out on all passers-h^^ 
At last, when the clock had struck seven, and I still 
saw no sign of our plans being carried out, I bought a 
^ticket for the pit, and went in to see whether I could dis- 
cover Manon and G M in the boxes. Neither of 

them were there. I returned to the door, where I spent 



another quarter of an hour in an agony of impatience and 
anxiety. Nothing rewarding my vigilance, I walked back 
to the coach, utterly at a loss as to what my next step 
should be. The driver, as soon as he caught sight of me, 
came forward to meet me, and informed me with an air 
of great mystery, that a pretty young lady had been 
waiting for me in the coach for more than an hour. She 
had described my appearance so accurately that he was 
sure it was I whom she wanted to see ; and, on learning 
that I was coming back to the coach, she had remarked 
that she was in no hurry and would wait for me. 

I jumped to the conclusion that it was Manon ; but the 


204 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


pretty little face I saw as I approached the carriage was 
not hers, as I had hoped, hut a stranger’s. 

Have I not the honor of addressing the Chevalier des 
Grieux ? ” she began. 

I told her that such was my name. 

have a letter for you,” she then said, ‘‘which will 
t<^ll you what has brought me here, and explain how it is 
that I have the advantage of being acquainted with your 
name.” 

I begged her to excuse me for a few minutes while I 
went into a tavern near by to read it. She expressed a 
wish to go with me, and advised me to ask for a private 
room. 

“ From whom does this letter come ? ” I asked, as we 
were on our way upstairs. 

“ Read it, and you will see,” was her response. 

I recognized the writing ; it was Manon’s ; and the sub- 
stance of what she wrote me was as follows : 

G M had welcomed her with a degree of hom- 

age and magnificence that surpassed all her expectations 
— loading her down with gifts and preparing her to lead a 
life of almost queenly luxury. She assured me, however, 
that she was not forgetting me in the midst of this new 

splendor; hut she had not been able to persuade G 

M to take her to the Comedie that evening, and must 

therefore postpone the pleasure of seeing me until another 
day. To console me in some degree for the pain which 
she foresaw this news might occasion me, she had suc- 
ceeded in getting one of the prettiest of the frail sister- 
hood of Paris to he the hearer of her note, which was 
signed “ Your faithful love, Manon Lescaut.” 

There was something so wantonly cruel and insulting to 
me in the whole tone of this letter that for some moments 
I scarcely knew whether rage or grief had the mastery in 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


205 


my heart, and was conscious only of the determination to 
make one final and desperate effort to banish my perjured 
and ung-rateful mistress forever from my thoughts. 

I glanced at the girl before me. She was extremely 
pretty ; and 1 could have wished that she were beautiful 
enough to make me forswear honor and constancy in my 
turn. But hers were not those bright and melting eyes, 
that divinely moulded form, that complexion of love’s own 
coloring — in a word, that inexhaustible wealth of charms 
which Nature had lavished upon the faithless Manon. 

No ! It cannot be ! ” 1 exclaimed, as I withdrew my 



gaze from her face. The heartless being from whom 
you come was only too well aware that she was sending 
you on a vain errand. Go back to her, and tell her in my 
name to enjoy the fruits of her guilt — to enjoy them, if she 
can, without remorse. For my part, I renounce her now 
and forever — her and all her sex, none of whom can equal 
her in loveliness, but all of whom, I doubt not, are as base 
and as disloyal as herself ! ” 

So saying, I turned away, and was about to leave the 
house and relinquish forever all claim to Manon’s affec- 
tions. The mortal jealousy which was consuming my 
heart had taken the guise of a dark and mournful apathy, 
which led me to imagine that I was nearly cured of my 


206 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


passion, since I was conscious of none of those violent 
emotions which had agitated me on previous occasions of 
this kind. Had I but realized it, alas ! I was being hood- 
winked by Love as completely as I supposed myself to 
have been by G M and Manon. 

Seeing that I was on the point of going downstairs, the 
girl who had brought me the letter asked me what I 

wished her to tell M. de G M and the lady who 

was with him. At this question I returned to the room, 
and, by a revulsion of feeling which would be thought in- 
credible by any one who has never been the victim of vio- 



lent passions, my delusive calmness suddenly deserted me 
and gave place to an uncontrollable outburst of rage. 

Go ! ” I cried, ‘‘ go, and tell that traitor G M 

and his false-hearted mistress to what despair your ac- 
cursed letter has driven me; but warn them that they 
shall not long make merry over it, for this hand of mine 
shall soon guide the dagger to both their hearts.” 

I threw myself into a chair, letting my hat fall from one 
hand and my cane from the other, while bitter tears be- 
gan to stream from my eyes. The passionate indignation 
which had swept over me only a moment since now died 
away, and left behind it a melancholy so profound that I 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


207 


could only sit and weep, save that every now and ag’ain 
there broke from my lips^a heavy sigh, or a groan of 
anguish. 

‘‘ Come, child, come nearer,” I said at last, turning to 
the young girl ; come to me, since you have been sent to 
console me. Tell me if you know of any consolation to 
offer a heart that is tortured with rage and despair ; tell 
me how to still this imperious longing to kill two false 
wretches who are unworthy to draw breath, and, that 
done, to put an end to my own life. Yes, come to me,” I 
continued, as I saw her take one or two timid and falter- 
ing steps towards me, ‘‘ come, and wipe away my tears ; 
come, and restore peace to my heart ; come, and tell me 
that you love me, so that I may grow accustomed to being 
loved by another, now that my faithless one has deserted 
me. You are beautiful : perchance I may yet he able to 
love you in return.” 

The poor child, who was not more than sixteen or sev- 
enteen years of age, and who seemed to be possessed of 
more modesty than is common among her class, was ut- 
terly bewildered by this unwonted scene. She approached 
me, however, and would have caressed me, but I thrust 
her quickly away, and exclaimed, as I held her from me at 
arm’s length : 

"" Stop ! Do not touch me ! Pah ! Are you not a wo- 
man, one of a sex which I abhor, the very sight of which 
is more than I can bear ? The sweetness of your face is in 
itself a menace of some new treachery. 'Go ! and leave me 
here alone ! ” 

She ventured no reply, but made me a bow, and turned 
to leave the room. I called out to her to stay. 

“Tell me at least, before you go,” I resumed, “why, 
how, and with what object you were sent here. How did 
you learn my name, and where to find me? ” 


208 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT, 


She then told me that M. de G M was an old 

acquaintance of hers. At fivje o’clock that afternoon he 
had sent for her ; and, on following the lackey who had 
brought his message, she had been taken to a fine mansion 
where she had found him playing at piquet with a very 
beautiful lady. She had received instructions from them 
both to deliver the letter which she had placed in m^^ hands, 
having first been told by them that she would find me 
waiting in a coach at the end of the Rue Saint- Andre. 

I inquired whether this was all they had said to her. 



She replied, with a blush, that they had led her to hope 
that I would take her to live with me as my mistress. 

Then,” said I, ‘‘ they deceived you, my poor girl, they 
deceived you cruelly. You are a woman, and being a 
woman, you cannot do without a lover. But ^mu want a 
lover who is rich and happy, and you will not find him 

here. Go back to G M ; yes, be advised by me, 

and go back to him. He can boast of all that a man need 
have in order to win the favor of the fair. He can lavish 
upon them gifts of houses, and carriages, and whole 
retinues of servants. As for me, who have only love and 
constancy to offer, women scorn my poverty and make 
sport of my simplicity ! ” 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


209 


Thus did I run on, now in a strain of sadness, now of 
indig-nation, as each of the various passions that were 
contending in my breast in turn subsided or gained the 
upper hand. Gradually, however, my self-tormen tings 
had the effect of calming the tumult of m^^ feelings suffi- 
ciently to allow of my making some reflections. 

I compared this last misfortune with the others of the 
same kind which I had already endured, and I saw no 
more reason to despair in this than in the former cases. 
Understanding Manon’s character as I did, why should I 
allow myself to he overwhelmed hj^ a trial which I o^ght 



to have foreseen and guarded against ? Why not rather set 
about discovering some way of remedying it ? It was not 
yet too late. At all events, I felt that I must spare no 
pains in the task, unless I wished to have myself to re- 
proach for contributing to my own unhappiness by my 
negligence. I began at once, therefore, to consider every 
expedient that seemed to hold out the least ray of hope. 

To attempt to wrest her forcibly from the clutches of 

G M would be a desperate undertaking, likely to 

result only in my ruin, and presenting absolutely no pros- 
pect of success. But I was convinced that if I could find 
some way of speaking to her, if only for a few short 


210 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


moments, I could not fail to touch her heart in my favor 
— so well did I know its tender places, so sure was I that 
she really loved me ! I would have been willing- to wag-er 
that this whimsical notion of sending* a pretty g-irl to 
comfort me had originated with her, and was simply an 
outcome of the compassion she was feeling for me in my 
distress. I was resolved that I would see her and speak 
to her at whatever cost. 

After passing many plans under consideration, I decided 

upon the following one. M. de T had given evidence 

of such warm friendship in the services he had alread3^ 



rendered me, that it was impossible for me to entertain 
the slightest doubt of his sincerity and devotion. I deter- 
mined to go to him at once, and persuade him to send 

for G M under pretence of having important 

business to transact with him. Half an hour would 
suffice for all I had to say to Manon. My design was 
nothing more nor less than to gain access to her own 
room ; and this I believed that I could easily accomplish 
during G M ’s absence. 

This resolution having somewhat restored my peace of 
mind, I paid the young girl (who was still with me) 
handsomely for her services ; and, in order to deter her 


THE STORY OF 3IAN0N LESCAUT. 


211 


from going* back to those who had sent her, I made a 
note of her address, leading her to expect a visit from me 
later in the evening. Then, getting into the coach again, 
I drove as fast as the horses could carry me to M. de 

T ’s house. I was fortunate enough to find him at 

home ; having been in an agony of apprehension all the 
way lest he might be out when I arrived. In a few words 
I acquainted him with my troubles, and with the service I 
had come to ask at his hands. 

M. de T was so amazed to learn that G M 

had succeeded in seducing Manon, that, not being aware 
of how far I had been instrumental in bringing this mis- 
fortune upon myself, he generously offered to gather all 
his friends together and rescue my mistress by force of 
arms. I pointed out to him that the scandal which would 
inevitably be created by such an affray might be fraught 
with dangerous results for Manon and myself. 

‘‘We will have no bloodshed,” said I, “until we are 
driven to the last extremity. The plan I have in view is 
less violent, but, I expect, will prove quite as successful.” 

He pledged himself unconditionally to do anything I 
might require of him ; and when I repeated that all that 

was needed was for him to send word to G M 

that he wished to speak to him, and to keep him out of the 
way for an hour or two, he at once set out with me to do 
as I desired. 

We cast about for some plausible pretext that he could 

use for detaining G M so long. I advised that 

he should first write a short note, dated at some tavern, 
asking him to come there at once on an affair of such 
importance that it would not brook delay. 

“ I will be on the watch,” I added, “ to see him leave the 
house. I can then easily effect an entrance, as I am 
known to no one in it, except Manon and Marcel, my own 


212 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


valet. In the meanwhile, ^'ou, who will be with G 

M , can tell him that the important matter concerning* 

which you are are anxious to speak to him is your pressing- 
need of some money, as you have just lost all your own at 
play, and have staked your honor for a great deal more 
with the same unfortunate result. It will take some time 
for him to go to his banker’s with you ; and this will 
give me all I need for the execution of my design.” 

M. de T followed out this arrangement in every 

detail. I left him in a tavern, where he lost no time in 
writing his letter ; while I went and posted myself at a 



few paces’ distance from Manon’s house. I saw the bearer 

of the message arrive, and G M leave the house a 

few moments afterwards, and walk away, followed by a 
lackey. After giving him time to get well out of the 
street, I went up to my faithless mistress’s door, and, in 
spite of all my indignation, knocked at it as reverentially 
as though it had been the portal of a temple. 

Fortunately for me it was Marcel who answered the 
summons. I made him a sign to be silent, although, 
indeed, I had nothing to fear from the other servants. I 
asked him in an undertone whether he could take me to 
the room Manon was in without my being observed. He 


THE STORY OF 3IAN0N LESCAUT. 


213 


replied that that could he easily done, by creeping cau- 
tiously up the main staircase. 

‘‘ Come quickly, then,” said I, and try to prevent any 
one from going up while I am there.” 

I succeeded in reaching her apartments without encoun- 
tering any obstacle. 


CHAPTER XVI. 


Manon was quietly reading when 1 entered the room ; 
and I could not help admiring the singular character of 
the girl as displayed in this unconscious touch. So far 
from being startled, or showing the least timidity when 



she saw me, she merely hetra^^ed such slight symptoms 
of surprise as are involuntarily called forth by the sudden 
appearance of a person supposed to bo far away. 

Ah ! It is you, my love ! ” she exclaimed, as she came 
forward to embrace me with her accustomed tenderness. 

How rash you are ! Who would have expectea to see 
you to-day, and here, of all places ? ” 

I freed myself from her arms, and instead of respondiw^ 


THE STORY OF MANOJY LESCAUT. 


215 


to her caresses, repulsed her with scorn, and drew hack 
some paces from her. This proceeding* on my part nat- 
urally disconcerted her. She remained standing in the 
same position,_and gazed at me, while her cheeks flushed 
and then grew pale. 

In my secret soul I was so overjoyed at seeing her once 
more, that, despite all my just reasons for indignation, 
I could scarcely summon up resolution to open my lips 
and upbraid her. Yet my heart was bleeding from the 
cruel wrong she had done me. I recalled it vividly to 
mind, that it might kindle my resentment, and I strove 
to make my eyes flash with another fire than that of love. 

As I remained silent for some moments, and she grad- 
ually became aware of the excitement under which I was 
laboring, I noticed that she began to tremble, apparently 
from fear. This sight was more than I could bear. 

‘‘Ah, Manon ! I said to her tenderly, “false and 
incons'tant Manon ! Where shall my reproaches begin ? 
I see you pale and trembling before me, and I am still 
so readily moved by the slightest pain you suffer, that 
I dread to distress you too deeply by my rebukes. But, 
Manon, believe me, my heart is pierced with anguish at 
your disloyalty. Such blows as this can be dealt a lover 
with only one object — and that, his death ! This is the 
third time, Manon ; too well have I counted them for it 
to be possible that I should forget ! Now the hour has 
come for you to consider, once and for all, what your 
choice is to be ; for my unhappy heart is no longer proof 
against treatment so cruel as this. I feel that it is even 
now succumbing, and almost breaking with grief. I can 
bear no more,’’ I added, sinking into a chair; “I have 
scarcely strength enough left to speak or to stand ! ” 

She made me no reply, but, as soon as 1 was seated, 
she knelt down and, resting her head upon my knees, hid 


216 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT, 


her face in iny hands. In another instant I felt them 
moistened hy her tears. Heaven only knows what were 
my emotions at that moment. 

‘‘Ah, Manon, Manon! ’’ I sighed, “why give me tears 
now, at the eleventh hour, after you have robbed me of all 
that made life dear to me? You are feigning a grief 
you cannot feel. The greatest of your afflictions, I doubt 
not, is my presence, which has always been an irksome 
hindrance to your pleasures. Open your eyes ; look, and 
see who I am ; such tender tears as these are not shed, I 



am sure, for an unhappy wretch wdiom you have be- 
trayed and cruelly forsaken ! ” 

She covered my hands with kisses, but did not change 
her attitude. 

“Inconstant Manon ! ” continued I, “faithless and un- 
grateful girl ! What of your promises and of your vows ? 
What of the love you swore to me this very day, thrice 
fickle and crpel one ? Just Heaven ! Is a perfidious 
woman to call you thus solemnly to witness, and then to 
mock at you like this ? Is perjury, then, to be rewarded, 
while faith and constancy are left in despair? ” 

My reflections were so bitter as I uttered these words, 
that in spite of myself they drew tears from my eyes. 


THE STORY OF MANON LESQAUT. 


217 


My broken voice betrayed to Manon the fact that I was 
weeping*, and at last she spoke. 

‘‘ I must indeed be g'uilty, ’’ she murmured sadly, 
“ since it seems that I have caused you so much pain and 
distress ; but may Heaven be my judge if I have been so 
wittingly, or if I have harbored any intention of becoming 
so!” 

This declaration appeared to me so devoid alike of 
meaning and of candor, that 1 could not restrain a fierce 
outburst of indignation. 

‘‘ Such base dissimulation as this,” 1 cried, “ only serves 



to show me more plainly than ever how false and shallow 
is your heart. At last your odious character stands 
revealed to me in its true light. Farewell, unworthy 
being ! ” 1 continued, rising to my feet; “from this time 
forth we are strangers. Eather would I die a hundred 
deaths than remain any longer in your toils I 1, too, 
invite the retribution of Heaven if ever I honor you again 
with a single glance. Stay here with this last gallant 
of yours : give him your love ; reserve your hatred for me ! 
Renounce honor, renounce reason — do what you will; 
scorn and indifference are all that I can feel for you 
henceforth ! ” 

This passionate outbreak so terrified Manon that she 


218 


THE STORY OF MANON LE8CAUT. 


remained kneeling* before the chair from which I had 
risen, and fixed her eyes upon my face with a piteous 
gaze, while she trembled from head to foot and seemed 
almost afraid to di*aw her breath. I adv^anced a few steps 
further towards the door, looking back at her over my 
shoulder as I went. But I must have been lost to all 
sense of humanity to have steeled my heart against the 
mute appeal of her lovely face. So far was I from being 
equal to such barbarity, that I recoiled suddenly to the 
opposite extreme, and, yielding to an unreflecting impulse. 



turned — nay, rather, flew back to her side. Folding her 
in my arms, I rained a hundred fond kisses on her lips, 
and besought her to forgive my angry words, confessing 
that I was a brutal wretch and utterly unworthy of the 
happiness of being loved by such an adorable woman as 
herself. Then, leading her to a chair, I in m3^ turn 
fell upon my knees, and implored her to listen to me as I 
knelt before her. In that posture I expressed my contri- 
tion in a few reverent and tender words, such as only a 
devoted and impassioned lover can find ; and begged her 
to be merciful and pronounce my pardon. 

Throwing her arms about my neck, she said that it was 
she, rather, who must appeal to my generosity and for- 


THE STORY OF MAN OH LESCAUT. 


219 


bearance to forg-et the distress which she had caused me ; 
and, she added, she was beginning to see reason to fear 
that I would disapprove of what she had to tell me in 
self-justification. 

“Justification!’’ I here broke in; “I ask for nothing 
of the sort from you. I approve of all that you have done. 
It is not for me to exact reasons for your conduct. I am 
only too well satisfied and happy as long as my dearest 
Manon does not cast me out of her heart. But,” added I, 
forgetting for the moment the actual state of affairs, 
“all-powerful Manon — you who can at pleasure mete out 
to me joy or sorrow — now that I have propitiated you by 
my submission and by these evidences of my repentance, 
may I not be suffered to tell you of the misery and an- 
guish to which I am a prey ? May I not learn from your 
lips what my doom is to be to-day, and whether my 
sentence of death is to be irrevocably pronounced by 
your passing this night in my rival’s arms ? ” 

She pondered some moments before replying, and then, 
regaining her composure of manner, she said : “ My dear 
Chevalier, had you expressed yourself as clearly as this at 
the outset, you would have saved yourself a great deal of 
agitation and spared me a very distressing scene. Had I 
known that jealousy alone was the source of all your grief, 
I would have relieved your mind by offering to follow you 
at once to the very ends of the earth. But I was under 
the impression that your annoyance was due to the letter 

I was forced to write you under G M ’s very eyes, 

and to the girl we sent with it. I thought that you might 
have regarded m^^ letter as a piece of deliberate mockery, 
and, supposing the girl to have gone to you on my behalf, 
might have construed her errand as a declaration on 

my part that I intended to forsake you for G M . 

It was this idea that so suddenly overwhelmed me with 


220 THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 

terror ; for, innocent as I was, a moment’s reflection 
served to show me that appearances were sadly ag'ainst 
me. However,” she continued, ‘‘I ask you to judg’e me 
after you have heard the true version of the matter from 
my lips.” 

She then related all that had occurred from the moment 

of her g'oing’ to meet G M , whom she had found 

awaiting- her in the very room in which we were now 
sitting. The proudest princess on earth could not, in 
truth, have expected a more royal welcome than he had 



given her. He had himself conducted her through all the 
apartments of the house, which were furnished richly, hut 
in admirable taste. In her boudoir he had counted out to 
her ten thousand francs, besides giving her a number of 
jewels, among which figured the pearl necklace and brace- 
lets she had received once already as a present from his 
father. He had then led her into a large room which she 
had not seen before, where she found a sumptuous colla- 
tion spread for her. She was waited upon by the new 
servants whom he had hired especially for her, and whom 
he now ordered to consider her as their mistress for the 
future. After that he had shown her the carriage, the 
horses, and all his other presents; and had finally pro- 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


221 


posed that they should have a game of cards to pass the 
time until supper was ready. 

“I frankly own/’ continued Manon, ‘‘that I was daz- 
zled by this magnificence. It seemed to me that it would 
be a thousand pities to cheat ourselves of all this wealth 
by running away from it and taking nothing with me but 
the money and the jeAvelry. Here, thought I, is a 
fortune, all ready made and waiting for us both ; and 
there is nothing to prevent our living in luxury and ease 
at G M ’s expense. Instead, therefore, of sug- 



gesting that he should take me to the Comedie^ I deter- 
mined to sound him as to the sentiments he entertained 
towards you, and thus to ascertain what opportunities 
you and I should have of seeing one another in future, 
supposing that my scheme were to be carried into effect. 
I found him of a most accommodating disposition. He 
asked me what I thought of you, and whether I had not 
felt some regret at leaving you. 

“ I told him that you possessed so manj^ amiable quali- 
ties, and had always treated me so well, that it was only 
natural that I should regard you with great esteem. He 
admitted that he had a high opinion of your merits, and 
would be very glad to count you among his friends. He 


222 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


questioned me as to the spirit in which I thought you 
would take my desertion of you, especially when it came 
to your knowledge that I was in his hands. I replied that 
our love was now an affair of such long standing that its 
first ardor had had time to cool a little; and that you 
were, besides, somewhat straitened for money, and prob- 
ably would not regard the loss of me as a great misfor- 
tune — since it would relieve you of a burden which you 
could ill support. 

I added that I had been so sure of your taking the 
affair in good part, that I had felt no hesitation in telling 
you that I was coming to Paris on some business of my 
own ; you had raised no objections, I told him ; and, 
having occasion to come to town yourself, you had shown 
no great uneasiness when I parted from you. 

‘ If I thought,’ he then said, 'that the Chevalier des 
Grieux were disposed to be on friendly terms with me, I 
should be the first to pay my respects to him and place 
myself at his service.’ 

" I assured him that, knowing ^mur character as 1 did, 
I had no doubt that you would respond cordially to any 
advances on his part ; especially, I added, if he were 
willing to assist you in extricating yourself from the pecu- 
niary embarrassment in which you had become involved 
since you had been at variance with your family. 

"He interrupted me to assure me that he would do 
anything in his power to serve you ; and would even, if 
you felt inclined to engage in another love affair, procure 
you a charming mistress, whom he had deserted for my 
sake. I applauded this proposal warmly, in order to leave 
him absolutely no grounds for suspicion ; and being now 
more determined than ever to put my scheme into execu- 
tion, my one thought was as to how I could communicate 
it to you, for I was afraid that you might be needlessly 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


223 


alarmed when I failed to keep my appointment with you. 
It was with this object in view that I suggested to him 
that we should send you your new mistress this very 
evening, as that would furnish me with a pretext for 
writing to you. I was compelled to resort to this subter- 
fuge because I saw no hope of his leaving me at liberty 
for a single moment. Laughing at my proposal, he called 
his servant, and asked him whether he could find his 
former mistress immediately, and then sent him off to 
look for her in every direction. G M was under 



the impression that she would have to go to Chaillot to 
see you ; but I told him that, on leaving you, I had prom- 
ised to rejoin you at the Comedie, or, in case anything 
should prevent my going there, that you were to wait for 
me in a coach, at the end of the Rue Saint-Andre. It 
would be better, therefore, I said, to send your new mis- 
tress to you there, if onl3" to prevent your dancing attend- 
ance there all night long. 

I told him, also, that it would be as well to write 
you a few Words explaining this exchange, as you would 
otherwise be at a loss to understand it. He consented 
to this, but I was obliged to write in his presence, and I 
was very careful not to express myself too unguardedly 
in my letter. 


224 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


And now I have told you,” continued Manon, ^^how it 
all came about. I am concealing nothing from you, either 
as to what I did, or as to what I intended to do. The 
young girl came ; I thought her pretty ; and as I had no 
doubt that my absence would distress you, most sincerely 
did I hope that she might serve to divert your melanchol^^ 
for aw^hile ; the constancy I expect from you being that 
of the heart alone. 

I should have been only too glad to send Marcel to 
you, had I been able to do so ; but it was impossible for 



me to secure an opportunity of instructing him as to 
what I wished you to be told.” 

She brought her story to an end by telling me how 

embarrassed G M had been on receiving the note 

from M. de T . 

He hesitated for some time,” she said, ‘‘ as to whether 
he ought to leave me, and went away assuring me that 
he would return very shortly. That is the reason why I 
cannot help feeling uneasy at your being here, and was 
so surprised when you came into the room.” 

I heard her tale very patiently, much as there was in it 
that was calculated to wound and mortify me ; for her 
intention of being unfaithful to me was so clear that she 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


225 


had not even taken the trouble to disg-uise it from me. 

She could not hope that G M would leave her all 

night in vestal purity ; and what torture there was for a 
lover in the thought of her contemplating any other alter- 
native ! Still, I considered that I had been partly to blame 
for her frailty, by having, in the first place, let her know 

the sentiments which G M entertained towards 

her, and then by having been weak enough to enter 
blindly into her rash project. Moreover, owing to a cer- 
tain turn of mind, peculiar, perhaps, to myself, I was 



touched by the ingenuousness of her confession, and by 
the frank and artless manner in which she related even 
those details which were most unpalatable to me. She 
sins without any malice of intention,’’ I said to myself. 
“ She is frivolous and imprudent, hut right-minded and 
sincere.” Add to this the fact that my love for her was 
in itself enough to blind me to all her faults, and that I 
was more than satisfied by the hope of carrying her away 
from my rival that very evening. Nevertheless, I could 
not restrain myself from saying : 

“ But what of to-night ? With whom were you going 
to spend it ? ” 

This question, which I asked in a sad tone, utterly 


226 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


disconcerted her. She attempted to reply, but could 
only falter out ‘^buts” and “ifs,’’ until, pitying her 
confusion, I interrupted her to say firmly that I ex- 
pected her to leave the house with me at once. 

I shall do so willingly,” she replied. But you do not 
approve of my project, then ? ” 

‘‘What more can you ask,” I exclaimed in response, 
“ than that I should approve of all that you have done 
so far?” 

“ But surely you cannot object to our taking the money, 
at all events ? It is my own ; he gave it to me.” 



I advised her to relinquish everything, and to think only 
of making good our flight ; for, though I had been with 

her barely half an hour, I was in terror lest G M 

might return at any moment. She begged so earnestly, 
however, for my consent to our not leaving empty-handed, 
that I thought it only fair to yield a little to her wishes, 
when she had yielded so much to mine. 

While we were occupied in the preparations for our 
departure, I heard some one knocking at the street-door. 
I fully believed it to be G M , and, in my despera- 

tion at this thought, I told Manon that if he made his 
appearance it would be to meet his death. Nor had I, 
indeed, as yet regained sufficient calmness to have been 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


227 


able to control myself had I seen him. Marcel, however, 
put an end to my suspense by bringing me a note which 
had been given him at the door for me. It was from 

M. de T . He wrote that he was taking advantage of 

the absence of G M , who had gone home to get 

some money for him, to tell me of an amusing idea that 
had occurred to him. It appeared to him, he went on to 
sa^^, that I could not be more agreeably revenged on my 
rival than by regaling myself with the supper intended for 
him, and by sleeping that very night in the bed which he 
anticipated sharing with my mistress. There would be 

no difficulty in accomplishing this, proceeded M. de T , 

if I could secure the services of three or four men daring 

enough to seize G M in the street, and trusty 

enough to keep him a close prisoner until the following 
day. He promised, for his own part, to detain him for 
another hour at least, on various pretexts which he was 
ready to meet him with on his return. 

I showed this note to Manon, and explained the ruse b^ 
which I had succeeded in gaining access to her room, 
She was loud in her praises of the ingenuity of my plan, 
as well as of M. de T ’s, and we enjoyed a few mo- 

ments’ hearty laughter over them both. But, on my 
alluding to the latter as merely an excellent jest, she sur- 
prised me by declaring that she was delighted with the 
idea, and urging me quite seriously to carry it into effect. 
In vain did I ask her where she supposed that I was 
thus on a sudden to find men who could be relied upon 

to seize G M and keep him in safe custody. She 

said that we must try, at any rate, as M. de T 

vouched for our having still an hour at our disposal; 
while, to all my other objections, her only response was 
that I was playing the tyrant, and had no regard for her 
wishes. The project had caught her fancy so completely 


228 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT 


that nothing would content her but to see it put into 
execution. 

‘‘You shall take his place at supper,” she repeated, 
again and again, “you shall sleep in his bed, and bright 
and early to-morrow morning you shall make off with his 
mistress and his money. Ah, richly will you be revenged 
on both father and son ! ” 

I finally yielded to her persuasions, though my heart 
was full of secret misgivings, which seemed to augur an 
unhappy ending to this affair. I went out, intending 



to ask two or three officers of the Guards, whose ac- 
quaintance I had made through Lescaut, to undertake the 

seizure of G M . I found only one of them at 

home ; but he was an adventurous spirit, and had no 
sooner heard what 1 wanted done, than he assured me of 
success ; only asking me to give him ten pistoles with 
which to pay three privates of the Guards whom he pro- 
posed to hire and lead himself. 

I begged him to lose no time ; and he mustered them in 
less than a quarter of an hour. In the meanwhile, I was 
waiting for him at his house ; and as soon as he returned 
with his confederates, I led him myself to the corner of the 
street along which G M must necessarily pass on 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


229 


his way hack to Manon. I instructed the Guardsman to 
do him no harm, but to keep him so closely confined until 
seven o’clock the next morning* that I might be under no 
apprehension of his making his escape. 

My plan,” said the officer, ‘‘is to take him to my own 
room, compel him to strip himself, and, perhaps, to sleep 
in my bed, while these three brave fellows and myself 
spend the night over a bottle and a pack of cards.” 

1 remained with them until I saw G M approach- 

ing, and then withdrew into a dark recess a little further 



down the street, whence I could be a witness of the strange 
scene which was about to be enacted. 

The Guardsman accosted him, pistol in hand, and gave 
him civilly to understand that he had no designs upon 
either his money or his life ; but that unless he followed 
him without making the slightest difficulty or raising the 

faintest alarm, he would blow out his brains. G 

M , seeing him backed up by three soldiers, and having, 

doubtless, a wholesome fear of the contents of the pistol, 
offered no resistance, and I saw him led away like a lamb. 

I then hastened back to Manon ; and, in order to prevent 
any suspicion on the part of the servants, I said to her as 
I entered the room that supper need not be kept waiting 


230 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


for M. de G M as some business had arisen which 

would detain him, much to his regret ; and that he had 
asked me to come and make his excuses to her for his 
absence and to take supper with her ; an honor of which 
the company of so fair a lady made me very sensible. 

She seconded me very cleverly in my design, and we 
took our places at the table. We assumed an air of grave 
propriety before the servants While they remained in the 
room to wait upon us; and when, at last, we had dis- 
missed them, we passed one of the most delightful evenings 
of our lives. I gave Marcel secret orders to find a coach 
and to tell the driver to be at the door before six o’clock 
the next morning. 

Towards midnight I pretended to take my leave of 
Manon ; but I was noiselessly let into the house again by 

Marcel, and was soon preparing to occupy G M ’s 

bed, as I had already usurped his place at table. 


CHAPTER XVII. 


Meanwhile, our evil genius was busy plotting our down- 
fall. At the very moment when we were draining the cup 
of bliss, the sword was hanging suspended over our heads. 



and the slender thread b}^ which it was upheld was soon 
to snap. But, for the better understanding of all the 
circumstances attending our ruin it will be necessar^^ to 
throw some light upon the causes whicli led up to it. 

When G M had been waylaid by the Guards- 

man, he had had a lackey following him. Terrified by 
the adventure which had befallen his master, the fellow 
had turned about and taken to his heels. His first effort 


232 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


towards obtaining assistance had been to run to old G 

M and tell him of the whole occurrence. My rival’s 

father was naturally not a little alarmed by this bad news, 

for G M was his only son. He was possessed 

of remarkable energy and spirit for a man of his years ; 
and at once proceeded to examine the lackey as to every- 
thing that his son had been doing during the afternoon ; 
inquiring particularly whether there was any one with 
whom he had had an altercation, whether he had em- 
broiled himself in anyone else’s quarrels, and whether 
he had been in any house of questionable character. 

The poor fellow, supposing his master to be in peril of 
his life, and thinking that he was in duty bound to sacri- 
fice every other consideration to that of obtaining aid for 
him, made a full disclosure of all that he knew regarding 

G M ’s passion for Manon, and the money he had 

squandered upon her; detailing how he had spent the 
afternoon and evening at her house until about nine 
o’clock ; how he had then gone out, and the mishap he 
had met with on his way back. The father saw good 
grounds in all this for suspecting that his son’s trouble 
was the result of some love-scrape. 

Although it was half-past ten at night, at the earliest, 
he betook himself without a moment’s hesitation to the 
Lieutenant-General of Police, and requested him to issue 
special orders to every squad of the night-watch. Then, 
asking for one of them as an escort for himself, he 
hastened to the street in which his son had been waylaid, 
and proceeded to search every part of the city in which 
he thought there was any hope of finding him. Failing 
to discover any trace of him, he finally ordered the 
lackey to take him to the house in which his son’s mis- 
tress lived; thinking it possible that he might have 
returned there. 


THE STORY OF 3IAN0N LESCAUT. 


233 


I was preparing* for bed when he arrived. The door of 
our room being closed, I did not hear the knocking at the 
street door; but he entered the house, accompanied by 
two Archers, and after making some fruitless inquiries as 
to his son’s whereabouts, he decided to see his mistress 
and get what enlightment he could from her. He came 
upstairs to the room we were in, still followed by the 
Archers. 

Just as we were about to get into bed, he threw open 



the door, and our hearts sank within us as we saw him 
standing before us. 

‘^Heaven protect us!” I cried to Manon, ‘Ht is old 
G M I ” 

I sprang forward to seize my sword ; but, alas I it was 
entangled in the belt. The Archers, whose quick eyes had 
detected the object of my sudden movement, ran at once 
to wrest the weapon from me. A man in his night-shirt 
is scarcely in a condition to offer much resistance, and I 
was quickly deprived of all means of defence. 

G M , although this scene caused him no little 

perturbation, was not long in recognizing me ; and Manon 
he knew even more readily. 

‘^Is this a dream?” he said grimly, or do I indeed 


234 


THE STORY OF M ANON LESCAUT. 


see before me the Chevalier des Grieux and Manon 
Lescaut?” 

I was so overcome with rag’e, mortification, and g^rief 
that I attempted no reply. For some moments he ap» 
peared to be following* out his own thoughts, and then, as 
though they had suddenly inflamed his wrath, he cried, 
addressing me : 

‘‘ Scoundrel ! You have murdered my son ! I am con- 
vinced of it ! ” 

This insult cut me to the quick, and I replied haughtily : 

Had I thought it worth while to kill any of your family, 
you old villain, I should have begun with you ! ” 

Hold him fast ! he said to the Archers, and then to 
me : What has become of my son? I insist upon your 
telling me ! As I live, I will have you hanged to-morrow, 
unless you let me know at once what you have done with 
him ! ” 

You will have me hanged, forsooth ! ” I retorted ; 

nay, the gallows is meant for you, and ruffians of your 
kidney ! Let me tell you, sir, that a nobler and a purer 
blood than yours runs in my veins. Yes/’ I went on, 
‘‘I do know what has happened to your son; if you 
provoke me much further^ I will have him strangled 
before morning, and I promise you the same fate after 
him ! ” 

I could scarcely have been guilty of a greater piece 
of imprudence than in thus confessing that I knew the 
whereabouts of his son ; but I forgot all discretion in the 
heat of my indignation. He immediately summoned five 
or six other Archers who were waiting at the door, and 
ordered them to place all the servants in the house under 
arrest. 

Ah ha ! my noble Chevalier ! ” he then resumed, in a 
mocking tone : So you loiow where my son is, and you 


THE STORY OF MAHON LESCAUT. 


235 


will have him strang-led, say you ! We shall have some- 
thing* to say about that, you may depend upon it ! 

I realized at once the fatal mistake that I had made. 

Advancing towards Manon, who was sitting upon the 
bed, weeping bitterly, he complimented her ironically upon 
the sway she wielded over both father and son alike, and 
upon the good account to which she succeeded in turning 
it. The lecherous old monster would then have attempted 
to take some liberties with her, had I not checked him by 
hotly exclaiming : 



Dare to lay hands upon her, and nothing under heaven 
shall protect you from my vengeance ! ” 

Thereupon he went out, leaving three Archers in the 
room, with orders to see that we dressed ourselves without 
delay. 

What his intentions regarding us may then have been, 
I cannot say. Possibly we might have obtained our 
release by consenting to tell him where his son was to be 
found. I reflected, as I drew on my clothes, whether this 
might not be the wisest course to adopt. But if such had 
been his inclination on leaving our room, it had undergone 
a complete change when he returned. 

He had been questioning Manon ’s servants, whom the 
Archers had arrested, and had failed to get any informa- 


236 


THE STORY OP MANON LESCAUT. 


tion from those whom his son had hired for her. But on 
learning* that Marcel had been in our service before, he had 
resolved to force him to speak out by threatening him 
with severe penalties, and so working upon his fears. 

Marcel was a faithful fellow, but simple and dull-witted. 
The recollection of the share he had taken in rescuing 
Manon from the Hopital, added to the terror with which 

G M succeeded in inspiring him, so affected his 

weak mind that he fully believed that he was about to be 
dragged straight to the gallows or to be broken upon the 



wheel. He promised to disclose all that he knew, if only 

they would spare his life. This convinced G M 

that we were g’uilty of some more seriQus and criminal 
offence than he had as yet seen reason to suppose. He 
assured Marcel that he would not only spare his life, but 
reward him liberally, if he would make a full confession. 

The unhappy wretch then acquainted him with part of 
our plot. We had discussed it freely in his presence, 
because of the share he was to take in its execution. He 
was, it is true, entirely in the dark as to the changes we 
had made in it since coming to Paris ; but he had received 
full instructions on leaving Chaillot as to our arrange- 
ments and the part he was to play in them. He informed 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 237 

his ques vuvuer, therefore, that our project was to make a 
dupe of ids son ; and that Manon was to receive, or had 
already received from him, the sum of ten thousand francs, 

which the G M family and its heirs would never 

lay eyes on again, if we succeeded in carrying out our 
design. 

Enraged at this discovery, the old man hurried upstairs 
and abruptly re-entered our room. Without a word, he 
passed through it to the dressing-room, where he had no 
difficulty in finding the money and jewels. Then, coming 
back to us, with his face positively purple with fury, he 



showed us what he was pleased to call our booty, and 
loaded us with insulting rebukes. Thrusting the pearl- 
necklace and bracelets under Manon’s very eyes, he said 
to her with a sneer : 

‘‘Do you recognize them? This is not the first time 
that you have seen them ! Yes, as I live, they are the 
same, the very same ! ’Tis easy to see that they were 
vastly to your taste, my fair lady! Poor innocents I” 
continued he; “you are a charming pair, truly; but not 
as honest as you might be 1 ” 

My blood boiled within me at these offensive taunts. I 
would have given my right hand— aye, my very hopes of 


238 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


heaven, for a moment’s freedom. At last, after an inward 
struggle, I mastered myself sufficiently to say with a 
calmness of manner that was really only a refinement of 
rage : 

A truce, sir, to these insolent jeers ! What are you 
going to do with us ? Come, frankly — what are we to 
expect ? ” 

‘‘What am I going to do with you, most noble Che- 
valier ? ” he replied. “ I will tell you : I am going to march 
you straight to the prison of the Chdtelet, To-morrow’s 
sun will enable us to take a clearer view of these little 
affairs of ours; and I trust that, before we have done 
with them, you will do me the honor of informing me 
where my son is to be found.” 

It required but little reflection to impress upon me 
how terrible would be the consequences for us if we were 
once to be confined in the Chdtelet. With a shudder 
I foresaw all the dangers of such a prospect. In spite of 
all my pride, I recognized that there was nothing for it 
but to bow to my destiny, and flatter my bitterest enemy 
by submission, in the hope of thus obtaining some mercy 
from him. I begged him, in a conciliatory tone, to listen 
to me patiently for a few moments, and then said : 

“ I will not attempt to justify my conduct, sir. I freelj^ 
admit that my youthful folly has led me into the commis- 
sion of some grave faults, and that you have been suffi- 
ciently injured by them to give you very good reason to 
complain. But if you knew the power of love — if you 
could appreciate the anguish that is felt by an unhappy 
young man who sees all that he most cherishes about 
to be torn from his arms — then, perhaps, you would not 
think it an unpardonable offence that I should have sought 
to enjoy some slight revenge ; or you would at least con- 
sider me sufficiently punished by the affront to which I 


THE STORY OF 3IAN0N LESCAUT. 


239 


have just been subjected. There is no need of either 
imprisonment or torture to force me to reveal your son’s 
whereabouts. He is safe. It was no part of my design 
to do him any harm, or to injure you in any way. He is 
now spending the night in peace and security, and I am 
prepared to tell you where, on condition that you will be 
good enough to grant us our liberty.” 

The merciless old barbarian, so far from being moved 
by my appeal, turned his back upon me with' a laugh, and 
merely muttered a few words to the effect that he was 



fully informed as to what our plans were, from beginning 
to end. As for his son, he brutally added, he would find 
his own way out of his predicament soon enough, as I had 
not assassinated him. 

“ Take them to the petit Chdtelet,'’ he said, turning to 
the Archers, and keep a sharp eye on the Chevalier, or 
he will contrive to slip away from you ; for he is a cunning 
rogue, and has made his escape from Saint-Lazare before 
now.” 

He then took his departure, leaving me in a condition 
of mind that may be more easily imagined than described. 

O Heaven ! ” I cried, I will submit resignedly to all 
the afflictions that you in your wisdom may visit upon 


240 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


me ; but that a miserable scoundrel like this should have 
it in his power to tyrannize over me thus is more than I 
can bear ! ” 

The Archers were growing impatient, and ordered us 
not to keep them waiting any longer. They had a coach 
ready at the door. I held out my hand to Manon to assist 
her downstairs, and said : 

Come, sweet mistress of my heart ! Come and sub- 
mit to the cruel decrees of our destiny. Some day, per- 
chance, it may please Heaven to grant us a happier fate ! ’’ 



We were both put into the same coach, and as we were 
driven away from the house, Manon threw herself into my 
arms. Not a word had she uttered since the moment of 

G M ’s first appearance ; but now that she found 

herself once more alone with me, she poured forth innu- 
merable expressions of endearment, and of self-reproach 
for having brought this misfortune upon me. I assured 
her that, whatever my fate might be, I would never 
complain so long as she continued to love me. 

It is not I who am to be pitied,” I continued ; ‘‘ a few 
months’ imprisonment has no terrors for me, and, in any 
case, the Chdtelet is preferable to Saint Lazare. It is for 
you, sweet soul, that my heart is bleeding. What a 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


241 


prospect is this to confront a lovely being like ^^ourself ! 
How, oh ! how can Providence wreak such cruelty upon the 
most perfect of its creations ? Why is it that we were not 
born, you and I, with qualities in keeping with the misery 
before qs ? We have been endowed with intelligence, with 
taste, and with fine feeling — and all, alas ! to what end ? 
While, on the other hand, how many ignoble souls, worthy 
of no better fate than ours, are to be seen in the enjoyment 
of every favor that fortune has to bestow ! ” 

Bitter as were these reflections, they were cheerful in 
comparison with the fears that were agitating my mind 
with regard to the future. My heart was sick with dread 
of what might befall Manon. She had already been an 
inmate of the Hopitaly and though, for once, she had been 
fortunate enough to escape with impunity, I knew how 
dangerous were the consequences of relapses of this kind. 
It would have been a relief to confide my misgivings to 
her ; but I was fearful of alarming her too much. I could 
only sit and tremble for her, without daring to warn her 
of the peril she was in ; and I sighed as I pressed her to 
my heart and assured her again and again of my love — 
which was almost the only feeling I dared trust myself to 
express. 

“ Manon,’’ I said, answer me frankly : will you always 
love me ? ” 

‘‘It makes me very unhappy,” she responded, “to 
think that you can doubt it.” 

“ I do not doubt it, then,” I replied ; “ and with that 
assurance from your lips, I am ready to defy all our 
enemies. I will make use of the influence of my family to 
obtain my release from the Chdtelet, and, once free myself, 
I will rescue you from it, if I have to shed my blood to the 
last drop in the attempt ! ” 

On reaching the prison we were separated and placed 


242 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


in different wards. Had I not been prepared for this, it 
would have been a cruel blow ; as it was, I found it hard 
to bear. I commended Manon to the good offices of the 
warder, giving him to understand at the same tipie that 
I was a person of some consideration, and promising him 
a liberal reward if he treated her kindly. Before I was 
parted from my beloved mistress, I clasped her fondly in 
my arms and besought her not to give way to despair, 
and to have no fears as long as I remained alive to protect 
her. There was a little money in my purse. I gave her 



part of it, and out of what was left paid the warder a 
month’s full board in advance, for her and myself. 

My money had a very good effect. I was put into a 
comfortably furnished room, and assured that a similar 
one had been given to Manon. Left to myself, I at once 
began to consider how I could most speedily regain my 
liberty. One thing was clear ; there was nothing abso- 
lutely criminal in all I had done. Even supposing that it 
were proved, on Marcel’s evidence, that it was our inten- 
tion to commit a theft, I was well enough versed in the law 
to be aware that no penalty attaches to the mere contem- 
plation of an offence. I decided to write to my father 
without delay, and beg him to come to Paris in person. 
As I have already said, I felt much less shame at being 


2 HE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


243 


imprisoned in the Chdtelet than at Saint-Lazare, More- 
over, though I still retained all due respect for the pater- 
nal authority, increased age and experience had greatly 
diminished my former timidity. In short, the letter was 
written, and the authorities of the Chdtelet raised no ob- 
jection to my sending it. I might have spared myself the 
pains, however ; for, had I but known it, my father was 
to be in Paris the very next day. 

He had received the letter which I had written him a 
week before, and had been overjoyed at its contents. 
But, in spite of the hopes which I had encouraged him to 
indulge regarding m^^ reformation, he had not thought 
it wise to rely entirely upon my promises, and had decided 
to come and assure himself of my conversion by the evi- 
dence of his own eyes, and to be governed in his subse- 
quent course by the degree of sincerity I showed in my 
repentance. He arrived in Paris the day after my arrest. 
He first went to see Tiberge, to whose care I had asked 
him to address his reply. My friend was unable to give 
him any information as to my present whereabouts or 
occupation, and all that he could gather from him was 
a general outline of my principal adventures since my 
flight from Saint Sulpice. Tiberge spoke very encourag- 
ingly, however, of the disposition I had shown during our 
last interview, to reform my way of life. He added that 
he believed me to have finally separated from Manon, 
but expressed his surprise at my not having given him 
any news of myself for a week past. 

My father was not a man to be easily duped. He 
surmised that this silence of which Tiberge complained 
had something behind it which that simple soul had not 
penetration enough to discover, and he made such diligent 
efforts to trace me, that before two days had passed he 
had found out that I was a prisoner in the Chatelet, 


244 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


Before his visit, which I little suspected to he so near 
at hand, I received one from the Lieutenant-General of 
Police ; or, to call things by their proper names, I was 
subjected to an examination by him. He reprimanded 
me a little, but not with undue harshness or severity ; 
telling me kindly that he was sorry that I should have 
been guilty of such misconduct, and pointing out how 
imprudent I had been to make an enemy of a man like 
G M . 

^‘It is clear enough,” he went on to say, ‘‘that your 



offence was prompted by thoughtlessness and folly rather 
than by actual malice. This is the second time, however, 
that you have brought yourself within the pale of my 
jurisdiction; and I was in hopes that you had profited 
more than you seem to have done by the two or three 
months’ discipline you underwent at Saint- Lazar 
I was overjoyed to find that I had such a considerate 
judge to deal with, and answered all his questions with so 
much deference and self-restraint that he seemed to be 
very favorably impressed. He told me not to let my 
present situation weigh too heavily on my mind, as he felt 
inclined to befriend me, in consideration of my youth and 
rank. 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


245 


I then ventured to plead with him on Manon’s behalf, 
and grew eloquent in my praises of her goodness and 
gentleness. He replied, with a smile, that he had not seen 
her as yet ; but that he was given to understand that she 
was a dangerous character. 

My devotion took fire at this epithet, and I launched 



out into a long and passionate defence of my unhappy 
mistress, losing my self-control so completely that at 
last I actually burst into tears. The Lieutenant-General 
ordered me to be taken back to my room ; and as he saw 
me led from his presence, the sedate and worthy magis- 
trate shook his head gravely and exclaimed : 

Ah ! Love, Love ! will you never cease to be at odds 
with Wisdom ? 


CHAPTER XVIII. 


I WAS buried in my own gloomy reflections, and medi- 
tating over my recent interview with the Lieutenant- 
General of Police, when I heard the door of my room 
thrown open, and, looking up, found my father standing 
before me. Although I was not altogether unprepared to 



see him— expecting his arrival, as I did, within a few days 
— I was so taken aback by his sudden appearance that I 
would gladly have had the ground open under my feet, 
and hide me in its depths. I ran to embrace him, con- 
scious, as I did so, that my whole manner was betraying 
the confusion I felt. He took a seat, neither of us having 
as yet uttered a word. 

Seeing that I remained standing, with my eyes cast 
down and my head uncovered, he said to me sternly : 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


247 


‘‘Be seated, sir, be seated. Thanks to the scandal 
occasioned by your debaucheries and rascalities, I have 
discovered your place of abode. Talents such as yours 
have at least one advantage — they cannot long remain 
hidden under a bushel. You are on the direct road to 
renown, young sir, and I trust that you will soon reach 
your goal, the Greve,* and there enjoy to the full the glory 
of being exposed to the admiring gaze of the public ! ’’ 

I attempted no reply, and he went on : “ Little can you 
conceive the grief of a father who, after lavishing his ten- 
derest affection upon a son, and sparing no pains to make 
him an honorable man, sees all his care rewarded in the 
end by that son’s becoming a heartless scoundrel, and 
bringing disgrace upon his head ! The reverses of fortune 
carry consolation in their train. Time effaces them, and 
the sorrow they cause gradually fades away. But what 
remedy is there, alas ! for a trial that grows worse as 
the days go by — such as the profligacy of a vicious son, 
in whom all sense of honor is dead ? ” 

“You are silent, unhappy boy ! ” he resumed, after a 
moment’s pause. “ Upon my word, to judge by the mock 
modesty and hypocritical meekness of your manner, one 
would suppose that you were the most upright and stain- 
less member of all the race of des Grieux ! ” 

Although I was forced to admit to myself that this 
tirade was not altogether undeserved, it seemed to me that 
my father was overstepping the bounds of justice ; and I 
felt that I might fairly be permitted to give frank expres- 
sion to my thoughts. 

“I assure you, sir,” I said, “that the modesty of my 
bearing before you is not at all affected. It is the natural 

* La Gr^ve : A public square in Paris, where executions formerly 
took place.— Translator. 


248 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


demeanor of a well-bred son towards a father for whom 
he entertains the deepest respect, especially when he is 
conscious of that father’s displeasure. Nor have I any 
wish to hold myself up as the most virtuous of those who 
hear our name. I know that I merit your rebukes ; but 
I beseech you to moderate their severit}^, and not to treat 
me as though I were the vilest of men. I do not deserv^e 
such harsh epithets as those which you have applied to 
me. Love, as you know, has been the cause of all my 
errors. Alas ! have you never felt the force of that fatal 
passion ? Surely, it cannot be that your blood, from which 
my own is drawn, has never glowed with a like fire ! 
Love, and love alone, must answer for having made me 
too tender, too impassioned, too constant, and, perhaps, 
too compliant, where the wishes of my all-fascinating 
mistress were concerned. Such are my crimes : is there 
one of them that does you dishonor? Pray, then, my 
dear father,” I continued affectionately, ‘‘pray have 
some compassion on a son who has never failed in his 
love and respect for you ; who has not bidden farewell, 
as you suppose, to honor or to duty ; and who needs your 
pity far more than you imagine ! ” 

The tears rose to my eyes as I concluded this appeal. 

A father’s heart is Nature’s masterpiece. It is the 
realm, so to speak, over which she delights to rule, and its 
every impulse is under her own immediate ordering. Not 
only was Nature strong in my father, but he was a man 
of cultivated taste and intelligence ; and the turn which I 
had given to my expressions of contrition appealed so for- 
cibly to his feelings that he could not disguise the change 
which the3^ had undergone. 

“Come to my arms, my poor son!” he cried; “ you 
have my deepest sympathy ! ” 

I embraced him affectionately, and he pressed me so 


THE STORY OF MaHOH LBSCAUT. m 

closely to his breast that I could feel his heart throbbing' 
with emotion, the nature of which it was easy for me to 
divine. 

‘^But/’ he said, as soon as he was calm enough to 
speak again, how are we to obtain your release from 
this place ? Come ! tell me frankly exactly how matters 
stand.’’ 

There was, after all, nothing absolutely dishonorable 
in my conduct as a whole— judging it, that is, by the 
standard set up by young men of rank and fashion ; nor 



in our day is it regarded as a heinous offence to keep a 
mistress, any more than it is to resort to a little artifice 
in order to turn the fortunes of the gaming-table in one’s 
own favor. Arguing thus with myself, I proceeded to 
give my father a faithful and detailed account of the life 
I had been leading; taking care to accompany the con- 
fession of each fault with an example of a similar delin- 
quency on the part of some well-known personage, in 
order to diminish the shame of my own transgression. 

I live with a mistress,” said I, ‘^without being united 
to her by the ties' of matrimony ; but does not all Paris 

know that His Grace the Duke of keeps two, while 

M. de has for ten years past had a mistress whom 


250 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


he loves with a constancy which he never showed towards 
his wife ? To keep a mistress, in fact, is esteemed a point 
of honor by two-thirds of the gentry of France. I have 
cheated a little at cards, hut what of that ? The Marquis 

of and the Count of derive their whole incomes 

from that source alone ; while the Prince of and His 

Grace the Duke of are the chiefs in a League of 

‘ Knights ’ of the same order.” * 

It would have been equally easy for me to prove that 
I was not without precedents in the matter of my designs 



on the purses of the two G M s, but I had too 

much sense of honor left to allow me to do anything but 
condemn myself on that point, in common with all those 
whose examples I might have pleaded. I merel}^ begged 
my father, therefore, to overlook that fault in considera- 
tion of the fact that I had been driven to its commission 
by two such overmastering passions as Love and Re- 
venge. 

He then asked me whether I could suggest any means 
for him to adopt in order to procure me my liberty as 
speedily as possible without public scandal. ] told him 


* i. Q., Chevaliers d' Industrie. 


THE 8 TORY OF MAHON LESCAUT. 251 

of the kindly feeling* which the Lieutenant-General of 
Police had manifested towards me. 

‘^The only opposition you are likely to encounter,” said 

I, “will be on the part of the G M s; so that I 

think it would be advisable for you to go and see them, 
if you do not consider it too much trouble.” 

He promised to do so. I did not dare to ask him to 
plead for Manon as well. Not that I lacked the requisite 
boldness ; but I was afraid of irritating him by making* 



such a suggestion, and inspiring him with some design 
that might prove disastrous to her and myself. 

To this da^^ I am uncertain whether my worst misfor- 
tunes were not due to my having yielded to this fear, and 
having allowed it to prevent me from sounding my father’s 
real feelings and endeavoring to enlist them in favor of 
my unhappy mistress. I might, perhaps, have succeeded 
in arousing his pity once more. I might have put him on 
his guard against the false impressions which he was 

about to receive, only too willingly, from old G M . 

Who can tell? My evil destiny might, perhaps, have 
carried the day in spite of all my efforts ; but in that case, 
at all events, I should have had only the malice of fate 


952 - 


THE STORY OF MANOH LESCAUT. 


and the cruelty of my enemies to blame for all my un- 
happiness. 

On leaving me, my father paid his promised visit to 

G M . He found him wit^ his son, whom the 

Guardsman had duly released. The particulars of their 
conversation I have never known, hut it has been only 
too easy for me to surmise what the purport of it was, 
from the tragical results to which it led. They — the two 
fathers, that is to say — went off together to the Lieuten- 



ant-General of Police, of whom they asked two favors. 
One was that he would order my immediate release frord 
the Chatelet; the other, that he would condemn Manon 
to prison for the rest of her life, or send her out to the 
penal settlements of America. 

Preparations were being made at this very time for the 
transportation of a number of convicts and vagrants to 
the Mississippi. The Lieutenant-General promised that 
Manon should go on the first vessel that was dispatched. 

As soon as this matter was settled, M. de G 

M and my father came together to inform me that I 

was once more at liberty. 

M. de G M , after courteously assuring me that 

he bore me no ill-will for what had occurred in the past. 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


253 


congratulated me upon having such a father as my own, 
and exhorted me to profit hy his teaching and example in 
the future. My father, on his side, ordered me to apolo- 
gize to G M for my intended insult to him and 

his family, and to thank him for having joined with him 
in his efforts to obtain my release. 

We left the prison together, without a word having 
been said regarding my mistress. I did not even dare to 
speak to the turnkeys about her, in their presence. 

Alas ! my sorrowful appeals to them that they should 
treat her kindly would have been vain indeed, had I 
uttered them. For, with the order that set me free, had 
come the cruel one concerning her; and an hour had 
scarcely passed before the unhappy girl was taken to the 
Hopital, there to be placed among a band of unfortunates 
of her own sex, who had been condemned to a similar fate. 

My father had compelled me to accompany him to the 
house in which he was lodging, so that it was nearly six 
o’clock in the evening before I found an opportunity of 
eluding his vigilance, and betaking myself once more to 
the' Chdtelet. My object was merely to take some little 
delicacies for Manon, and to beg the Warder to have an 
eye to her comfort ; for I did not entertain any hopes of 
obtaining permission to see her ; nor had I, as yet, had 
time to mature any plans for her rescue. 

I asked for the Warder. My gratuities and civility of 
manner had quite won the man’s heart, and he was eager 
to give me some evidence of his good-will. Prompted by 
this kindly feeling, he began to tell me that he deepl.y 
regretted Manon ’s unfortunate fate, because he was sure 
that it would be a great grief to me. 

I was utterly at a loss as to what he meant, and 
we went on talking at cross-purposes for some time. At 
last, seeing that an explanation was necessary, he told 


254 


THE STORY OF 31 ANON LESCAUT. 


me what I have already told you, at the cost of a pang* 
of horror which this further allusion to the subject only 
serves to renew. 

Never did the swift stroke of paralysis produce a more 
sudden or more terrible result. I fell prone upon the floor, 
while my heart gave one throb, so agonizing that, for the 
instant before I lost all consciousness, I thought that 
the burden of life was lifted from me forever ; nor had this 
impression entirely faded from my mind when I revived. 
I let my eyes roam vaguel}^ about the room, and over my 



own prostrate form, before I slowly realized that I still 
retained the unhappy privilege of living. 

Unquestionably, had I yielded only to the natural 
impulse which prompts one to escape from suffering, 
nothing, in that momrent of horror and despair, could have 
seemed so sweet to me as death. Religion itself could 
not confront me with the prospect of any torments beyond 
the grave more intolerable than the cruel throes by which 
I was already convulsed. And yet, by one of Love’s 
own miracles, I was not long in regaining fortitude enough 
to offer up my heartfelt thanks to Heaven for having 
restored me to consciousness and reason. My death 


THE STORY OF 3IAN0JY LESCAUT. 


255 


would have been a ^ain to me alone ; but Manon required 
that I should live to rescue, to help, and to avenge her. 
To that task 1 iilwardly vowed that I would devote the 
whole strenerth of my being. 

The Warder tended me with as much solicitude as 
though he had been my dearest friend. I accepted his 
kindly 'assistance with the deepest gratitude. 

Alas ! I sighed, my sorrows do, then, move you to 
compassion ! I am abandoned by every one else. My 
own father, it seems, is one of the most relentless of my 



persecutors. Not a soul is there who pities me, except 
yourself. Yes, you — whose lot is cast in this abode of 
harshness and inhumanity — you alone show any sympathy 
for a poor wretch who is the unhappiest of living men ! ’’ 
He advised me not to venture out into the street until I 
had recovered a little from the agitation under which I 
was laboring. 

Nay, nay, let me go ! I answered, as I rose to leave. 
You will see me again sooner than you expect. Prepare 
the darkest of your cells for my reception. I am going 
to do my best to earn the right to occupy it ! 

And, in fact, my first resolve was nothing more nor less 
than to kill the two G M s and the Lieutenant- 


356 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


General of Police, and then to make an armed attack 
upon the Hopital at the head of as many of my friends 
as I could persuade to take up my g'rievance. I question 
even whether my father himself would not have been 
included in a vengeance that seemed to me more than 
justifiable; for the Warder had made no secret of the 

fact that he and G M were the authors of my 

impending bereavement. 

But I had not walked far before the fresh air began 
to cool my heated brain, and my blind fury gradually 
gave way to a more reasonable frame of mind. The de- 
struction of our enemies, I reflected, would not be of much 
benefit to Manon, while it would expose me to the almost 
certain risk of being deprived of all further power to 
help her. My very soul revolted, moreover, against the 
infamy of resorting to assassination. How else, then, 
could I be revenged ? 

First I must rescue Manon, and, postponing the con- 
sideration of all other matters until I had succeeded in 
that important task, I summoned every faculty of body 
and mind to aid me in its accomplishment. 

I had but little money left ; yet money was the first 
and most essential requisite in my project. I could 
think of only three persons from whom I might hope 

to obtain any — M. de T , my father, and Tiberge. 

There seemed but little likelihood of my getting any- 
thing from the last two ; and I was ashamed to weary 
the other by my importunities. 

But a desperate man cannot afford to indulge in delicate 
scruples, and I hastened at once to the Seminary of Saint 
Sulpice, with utter indifference as to whether I was rec- 
ognized there or not. I asked to see Tiberge. His first 
words showed me that my latest adventures were as yet 
unknowm to him. 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


251 


This discover}^ changed the intention I had entertained 
of making an appeal to his compassion. I spoke to him 
in a general way of the pleasure which it had given me 
to see my father once more, and then begged him to lend 
me some money, pretending that before leaving Paris I 
desired to pay some debts, the existence of which I was 
anxious not to have known. He at once handed me his 
purse. It contained six hundred francs, of which I took 
five hund;^ed, offering him my note-of-hand for the 
amount. This, however, he was too generous to accept. 



My next visit was to M. de T , to whom I confided 

all my wrongs and misfortunes without reserve. There 
was not a single detail of them but what he already knew, 
owing to the pains he had been at to follow up young 

G M ’s adventure to its close. He lent a patient 

ear to my story, however, and expressed much sympathy 
for me. 

When I asked him for his advice as to how I should set 
about Manon’s rescue, he replied sadly that the prospects 
of accomplishing it seemed to him so gloomy that, unless 
Heaven itself intervened by working a miracle on our 
behalf, he feared that all hope must be abandoned. He 
had paid a special visit to the Hdpital since her incarce- 


258 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


ration there, and even he had been refused permission 
to see her — so strict were the orders of the Lieutenant- 
General of Police. The most crushing- blow of all, he 
added, was that the departure of the unhappy hand of 
which she was to he one was to take place in two days 
from that time. 

My dismay at this information was so great that, had 
he continued talking for an hour I should not have thought 
of interrupting him. He went on to say that he had not 
gone to see me at the Chatelet, in order that, hy avoiding 



any appearance of collusion with me, he might he the 
better able to render me assistance. During the few 
hours which had elapsed since my leaving there, he had 
been much distressed at not knowing where I was to be 
found ; and had been anxious to see me as soon as possi- 
ble in order to offer me the only suggestion which 
seemed to hold out any hope of averting Manon’s fate. 
The plan he had to propose was fraught with great danger, 
and he begged me earnestly never to divulge the fact of 
his complicity in it. It was to hire a few picked bravos, 
with courage enough to make an attack upon Manon’s 
guards as soon as they reached the outskirts of Paris 
with their prisoner. 

Without waiting for me to make any reference to my 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


259 


need of money, M. de T drew out his purse and handed 

it to me, saying as he did so : 

There is a thousand francs, which may he of some 
assistance to you. You can repay me when your fortunes 
mend. Were it not tliat the regard which I am forced 
to have for my reputation forbids my taking part in the 
rescue of your mistress, you may be sure that I would 
gladly draw my sword in your service.” 

This unbounded generosity moved me almost to the verge 
of tears, and I thanked him with all the fervor which 
my Uffliction had left me capable of expressing. 

Would it be quite hopeless,” I then asked him, ‘‘to 
intercede with the Lieutenant-General of Police ? ” 

“ I have thought of that,” he replied ; “ but I fear that 
it would be of no avail. A favor of this kind can only be 
asked on very good grounds, and I do not quite see what 
pretext you could allege in your case for petitioning so 
exalted and powerful an official. The only chance of 
accomplishing anything in that quarter would be by win- 
ning G M and your father over to your views 

and persuading them to go to the Lieutenant-General 
and request him themselves to revoke his sentence. 

“ I promise you,” concluded M. de T , “to do 

my best to gain young G M over to your inter- 

ests, although I imagine that he has grown a little cool 
towards me, in consequence of some suspicions which he 
has conceived regarding my share in our recent plot 
against him. And let me urge you to leave nothing 
undone, on your side, to soften your father’s feelings.” 

This w'as no light undertaking for me ; in saying which 
I allude not only to the difficulty which I should have 
experienced in overcoming his opposition in any case, but 
to another circumstance, which made me even dread to go 
near him. I had, in short, stolen away from his lodgings 


260 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


contrary to his express orders, and had firmly resolved, 
since learning the sad fate that was in store for Manon, 
that nothing should induce me to return to them. 

I had every reason to apprehend that he would keep 
me there, whether I would or no, and take me back into 
the country with as little regard for my own wishes. 
My elder brother had adopted that method with me on a 
previous occasion. I had grown older since then, it is 
true ; hut age is a sorry argument against force. I hit 
upon a plan, however, by which I could avoid any such 



risk. This was to send to my father, under an assumed 
name, asking him to meet me in some public place. I 

immediately decided to adopt this course. M. de T 

went to see G M , and I repaired to the Luxem- 

bourg, whence I despatched a messenger to my father to 
tell him that a gentleman of his acquaintance was awaiting 
the honor of an interview with him. 

I was afraid that he might find it inconvenient to come, 
as it was growing late in the evening ; but he made his 
appearance before long, followed by his servant. I re- 
quested him to turn into a secluded path, in order that 
we might be alone together ; and we walked on for fully a 
hundred yards without speaking a word. He was doubt- 
less thinking that all this precaution betokened some matter 


THE STORY OF 3IAN0N LESCAUT. 


261 


of importance,- and Avaited to hear what I had to say, 
while I was anxiously pondering over the best way to 
begin. last I broke the silence. 

‘‘You are a good father, sir,’’ I said, trembling as I 
spoke. “You have lavished the greatest kindness upon 
me, and have forgiven me faults beyond number. And, 
for my own part, I can say before Heaven that no son 
ever felt more affection or more respect for a parent than 
I entertain for you. Yet it seems to me — I must own, 
in fact— that — that — ^your severity — is ” 



“Well, sir, and what of my severity ? ” interrupted my 
father, evidently impatient that I should come to the 
point. 

“ Ah, sir ! ” I went on, “ it seems to me, I confess, that 
you have been too severe in your treatment of my un- 
happy Manon. You have taken your ideas of her from 

M. de G M . His malice has led him to paint - 

her to you in the darkest of colors, and you have formed 
the most odious conception of her character. Yet never 
was there a sweeter, a more lovable being ! Oh, why did 
it never please Heaven to inspire you with a wish to see 
her — if only for one moment ? Sure as I am that she is 


262 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


perfection itself, I am no less sure that you would have 
thoug'ht her so ! You would then have taken her part; 
you would have been filled with loathing for that villain 

G M and his base schemes ; you would have had 

campassion on her, and on me. Alas ! I am certain of it ! 
Your heart is not so obdurate but that you would have 
allowed pity to melt it ! ” 

Again he interrupted me, seeing from the fervor with 
which I was speaking that it would be some time before 
I came to a conclusion. 

And what, may I ask,” said he, is to be the upshot 
of all this impassioned eloquence of yours ? ” 

‘‘To beg you to spare my life,” I replied; “for that 
moment must be my last which sees Manon sail for 
America ! ” 

“Enough of this, sir!” said he sternl^^; “I would 
rather, far rather, that you took leave of life than of vir- 
tue and honor I ” 

“ Then why go further ? ” I cried, seizing him by the 
arm and holding him back. “ Rid me here and at once of 
this life that is but a hateful burden to me ; for you have 
filled me with such despair that death would be the great- 
est boon you could confer upon me ; and it is a gift worth^^ 
of a father’s hand 1 ” 

“ I shall not give it, though you well deserve it,” was his 
response. “ I know many a father who long ere this 
would have meted out justice to you with his own hands ; 
but it is my excessive leniency that has been your ruin ! ” 

I threw myself at his feet. 

“Oh! if you have any of that leniency remaining,” I 
implored, as I clung to his knees, “ do not harden your 
heart against the son who lies weeping before you now ! 
Your son— yes, think of that! Think of my mother, 
alas ! whom you loved so tenderly ! Would you have 


THE STORY OF 3IAN0H LESCAUT, 


m 


suffered her to be torn from your arms ? Nay ! you 
would have defended her to the very death ! And do you 
suppose that others have not hearts of their own, as you 
have? Surely that breast cannot be utterly inhuman 
which has once known the sweetness of love and the 
bitterness of grief ! ” 

Do not dare to utter your mother’s name again ! ” 
he exclaimed angrily. ‘‘You but add to my indignation 
by alluding to her memory ! Sorrow at your debaucheries 
would have killed her, had she been alive to witness them. 



We have talked enough. I am in no humor to listen to 
more of your ravings — and nothing you can say will make 
me alter the resolution I have formed. I am now going 
back to my lodgings, and I order you to come with me.” 

The sharp and peremptory tone in which he uttered 
this command showed only too clearly that his heart was 
inflexible. I drew back a few paces, fearing that it might 
occur to him to lay hands upon me himself, and force me 
to accompany him. 

“ Do not increase my despair,” I said to him, “by com- 
pelling me to disobey you. It is impossible for me to go 
with you, just as it is impossible for me to live any longer 
after the cruel treatment which I have experienced at 


264 


THE STORY OF MAHON LESCAUT. 


your hands. I hid you, therefore, an eternal farewell. 
The news of my death, which you will soon receive,” I 
added bitterly, ^‘may perchance revive in your breast 
some of a father’s feeling-s towards me ! ” 

As I turned away, he cried, in a voice that fairly trem- 
bled with passion : 

So you refuse to follow me ? Then g-o ! Go to your 
ruin ! Farewell, ungrateful and rebellious boy ! ” 

Farewell ! ” I retorted, in a transport of rage and 
grief, farewell, most unnatural and inhuman of 
fathers.! ” 


CHAPTER XIX. 


Leaving the Luxembourg*, I rushed like a madman 

throug*h the streets to M. de T ’s house. As I went 

along* I raised my eyes to heaven and lifted my hands in 
supplication to the Almighty Powers above, crying aloud 
in my anguish : O God ! surely thou wilt not prove 

as pitiless as man ! Thine aid is now my only hope ! ” 



M. de T had not yet returned home, hut he arrived 

before I had waited many minutes. He told me with a 
rueful face that his efforts at mediation had met with 

no better success than my own. Young G M , 

although less incensed than his father against Manon and 
myself, was yet unwilling to attempt any intercession 


266 THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 

with him on our behalf. His excuse was that he was him- 
self afraid of the vindictive old man, who had already 
flown into a violent passion with him while reprimanding 
him on the subject of his intended intrigue with Manon. 

Thus, my only remaining course was to resort to vio- 
lent measures, such as M. de T had indicated ; and 

on the success of these I built my last hopes — hopes, as 
I told him, that were very slender at best, but in one of 
which I found certainty and consolation ; and that was, 
that should I fail, I should at least perish in the attempt. 
I begged him to aid me to the extent of offering up his 
prayers for my success, and then left him, with all my 
thoughts centred on the one object of finding associates 
into whom I might be able to infuse something, if only a 
single spark, of my own courage and determination. 

The first person who occurred to my mind was the 

Guardsman whom I had employed to abduct G M . 

I further resolved to go and claim his hospitality for the 
night, as my mind had been too much preoccupied all 
the afternoon to allow of my securing a lodging for 
myself. 

I found him alone. He expressed his pleasure at seeing 
me out of the Chatelet and at liberty once more, and 
warmly offered me his services. I explained to him how 
he could indeed be of assistance to me. He had good 
sense enough- to appreciate all the difficulties of the 
proposed attempt; but he was also generous enough to 
undertake to surmount them. 

We spent part of the night in discussing my project. 
He mentioned the three soldiers of the Guards whom he 
had hired to aid him on the last occasion, as bravos of 

proved mettle. M. de T had furnished me with exact 

information as to the number of Archers who were de- 
tailed to escort Manon on the journey. There were only 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


267 


six of them. Five bold and resolute men were enough to 
strike terror into the hearts of these miserable hirelings, 
who are utterly incapable of defending themselves gal- 
lantly when their cowardice can find a way of shirking 
the dangers of combat. 

As I was plentifully supplied with money, my friend 
the Guardsman advised me to grudge nothing that might 
help to insure the success of our attack. 

We must have horses,’’ said he, and pistols, as well 
as a carbine for each of us. I will make it my business 



to attend to all these preparations to-morrow. Three 
suits of civilians’ clothes will he necessary, too, for our 
soldiers, who would not dare, in an affair of this sort, to 
appear in the uniform of their regiment.” 

I entrusted him with the hundred pistoles which I had 

obtained from M. de T , and they were spent the next 

day, to the last farthing. The three soldiers were brought 
up for my inspection. I fired their zeal by liberal prom- 
ises of reward, and, in order to gain their complete confi- 
dence, I began by making each of them a present of ten 
pistoles. 

The day having arrived for the execution of my project, 
I despatched one of the soldiers to the Hopital at an early 


268 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


hour in the morning, with instructions to ascertain to a 
moment the time of the Archers’ departure with their 
prisoners. Although it was only my excessive anxiety and 
prudence which prompted me to take this precaution, it 
turned out to have been absolutely necessar^^ ; for, relying 
upon false information which had been given me as to 
their route, I had intended to lie in wait for the ill- 
fated band on the Orleans road, under the impression that 
they were to embark at La Rochelle. Had I done so, all 
my trouble would have been thrown away, for, as I learnt 



from the soldier’s report, they were taking the road to Nor- 
mand}^, and it was from Havre-de-Grace that they were 
to sail for America. 

We hastened at once to the Porte St. Honore, taking 
care to approach it by different streets, and rejoining one 
another at the end of the Faubourg. Our horses were 
fresh, and we were not long in coming up with the six 
Archers and the two wretched wagons which you saw at 
Passy two years ago. 

This spectacle so unmanned me that my strength and 
consciousness almost deserted me. 

O Fortune ! ” I cried, cruel Fortune, grant me now 
at least either victory or death ! ” 

We held a hasty consultation as to what should be our 


THE STORY OF MANO]^ LESCAUT. 


369 


mode of attack. The Archers were barely four hundred 
yards ahead of us, and in order to cut them off we had 
only to cross a small field that was skirted by the high- 
road which they were following. 

The Guardsman was in favor of adopting this course, 
and so surprising them by a sudden onslaught. 

Such was my own view, and, setting spurs to my horse, 
I led the way. But Fortune, alas ! had pitilessly rejected 
my prayers. Seeing five horsemen galloping towards 
them, the Archers at once concluded that it was with 



the object of attacking them. Fixing their bayonets and 
looking to the locks of their muskets, they prepared 
to defend themselves without a sign of flinching. 

At this sight, which served but to Are the Guardsman 
and myself with redoubled ardor, the courage of our 
three dastardly companions suddenly forsook them. They 
halted as if by mutual consent, whispered a few words 
among themselves which I could not overhear, and then 
turned their horses’ heads and made back, at full gallop, 
along the road to Paris. 

Curse the rascals ! ” exclaimed the Guardsman, who 
seemed to be as much aghast as myself at this infamous 


270 


THE STORY OF MANOh LESCAUi, 


desertion : What is to he done ? We are now but two 
against six ! ” 

I was speechless with rage and amazement. Reining in 
my horse, I hesitated as to whether my first acts of ven- 
geance should not be the pursuit and chastisement of the 
treacherous cowards who were thus abandoning me. I 
gazed after them as they fled, and then glanced in the other 
direction at the Archers. Had I possessed the power of 
doubling my own being, I should have fallen simultane- 
ously upon these objects of my fury, and dealt out one 
common death to them all. 

My indecision betrayed itself to the Guardsman by the 
restless wandering of my eyes, and he begged me to 
listen to his advice. 

How that there are only two of us,” said he, it 
would be madness for us to attack six men, as well armed 
as ourselves, and who seem prepared to offer a stubborn 
resistance. There is nothing for it but to return to Paris, 
and try to be more successful in the choice of our followers. 
The Archers will not be able to make very rapid progress 
on their journey, with two heavy carts to retard them ; 
and we shall have no difficulty in overtaking them again 
to-morrow.” 

I pondered over this suggestion for a few moments ; but 
I could see nothing but despair confronting me at every 
turn, and I came to a resolution which no one, in truth, 
but a desperate man could have formed. This was, to 
thank my companion for his friendly services, and then, 
so far from attacking the Archers, to go, instead, and 
humbly beg them to let me join their party ; my object 
being to accompany Manon as far as Havre-de-Grace 
with them, and then to cross the ocean with her. 

meet with persecution or betrayal on every hand,” 
I said to the Guardsman ; there is not a soul whom I can 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


271 


trust. I despair of any further aid from Fortune or 
from man. I have reached the climax of my sorrows, 
and all that remains for me is to resig'n myself to them 
and to close my eyes, as I now do, to every gleam of hope. 
May Heaven reward you for your kindness to me ! Fare- 
well ! I am going to help my evil destiny to consummate 
my ruin, by hurrying to meet it of my own free-will ! ” 
He endeavored in vain to persuade me to return to 
Paris. I entreated him to allow me to carry out my 
resolve, and to leave me at once, lest the Archers might 
still imagine that we intended to attack them. 



I rode slowly towards them, alone, and with such a 
dejection mirrored in my face, that they had no reason 
for being alarmed at my approach. In spite of this, they 
continued to stand on the defensive. Be under no appre- 
hension, my good sirs,” I said, as I drew near them ; ‘‘I 
do not come as an enemy, but as a suppliant.” Then, 
requesting them to resume their journey without dis- 
trust, I told them, as we went along, the favors 
which I hoped they v/ould grant me. They consulted 
together as to how they should receive my propositions. 
Finally the Archer in command, acting as spokesman for 
the others, told me in reply that they had received orders 


272 


THE STORY OT MAN ON LESCAUl. 


of the strictest kind to keep a close watch over their pris- 
oners ; but that, to oblige such a gallant young gentleman 
as I seemed to be, he and his companions would consent 
to be a little lax in their duty ; on the understanding, of 
course, that I was to pay something for the privilege. I 
had about fifteen left, and told them frankly how 

much my purse contained. 

‘‘Well,’’ said the Archer, “we’ll not be extortionate 
in our demands upon it. It shall cost you only a crown an 
hour to enjoy the company of whichever of our girls here 



is most to your liking. ’Tis no more than the regular 
price in Paris.” 

I had not alluded to Manon in particular, because I did 
not wish them to know of my passion for her. They at 
first supposed that it was merely a young man’s passing 
whim which led me to seek a little diversion with these 
unfortunates ; but no sooner did they begin to suspect 
that I was in love, than they increased their exactions to 
such an extent that my purse was empty by the time we 
left Mantes, where we had slept the night before we 
reached Passy. 

Do you ask me to tell you on what mournful themes 
Manon and I conversed during that journey, or to describe 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


273 


my feelings on beholding her, when I had obtained permis- 
sion from her guards to approach the wagon in which she 
lay ? Ah, my friend ! words, at best, do but feebly express 
the emotions of the heart ! But picture to yourself my 
unhappy mistress, with a chain around her waist, reclin- 
ing upon a few scanty handfuls of straw and wearily 
resting her head against the side of the cart, her face pale, 
and moistened by the tears which forced their way from 
beneath her lashes, and streamed down her cheeks, • 
although she kept her eyes constantly closed. She had 



not even had the curiosity to open them on hearing the 
commotion among her guards when they expected our 
attack. Her linen garments were soiled and bedraggled, 
her delicate hands exposed to the rude air ; in short, she, 
the embodiment of every charm— she, with that face 
which was lovely enough to lead the whole world back to 
idolatry — now presented a spectacle of such wretchedness 
and desolation as no language can describe. For some 
time I rode beside the cart, gazipg at her sadly, and so 
overcome with anguish at the sight that more than once 
I all but fell headlong from my horse. 

My sighs and repeated ejaculations of grief at length 
attracted her attention. Glancing up, she recognized me ; 


274 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


and I noticed that, yielding- to her first impulse, she at- 
tempted to leap from the cart towards me, but, the chain 
drag-ging- her back, she sank into her former attitude. 

I begged the Archers, in the name of mercy, to stop 
for a moment ; but only when I had appealed to their cu- 
pidity did they consent to do so. I dismounted from my 
horse and seated myself at Manon’s side. She was so 
enfeebled and exhausted that for a long time she could not 
open her lips to speak to me, or even make a sign with 
her hands. Meanwhile I bathed those dear hands with 



my tears, unable, myself, to utter a single word; and 
thus we sat together, in as pitiable a condition as ever fell 
to the lot of two unhappy mortals. Nor were our words 
less sad when at last we regained the power of speech. 

Man on said but little. Her misery and humiliation 
seemed to have wrought a change in the very organs of 
her voice, and its tone was tremulous and feeble as she 
expressed her gratitude to me for not having forgotten her, 
and for granting her, as she added with a sigh, the conso- 
lation of seeing me once again and bidding me a last fare- 
well. But on my protesting to her that no power on earth 
could tear me from her side, and that I was resolved to 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


275 


follow her to the very end of the world, that I might 
watch over her, tend her, love her, and link my miserable 
destiny forever with her own, the poor girl gave way to 
such transports of grief and affection that I trembled lest 
the violence of her emotions might endanger her life itself. 

All the agitation of her heart seemed to concentrate 
itself in her eyes, which she kept intently fixed upon my 
face. Every now and again she would commence a sen- 
tence, and, lacking strength to complete it, the words 
would die away upon her lips. The few to which she 



succeeded in giving utterance were expressions of admiring 
wonder at my devotion, and tender protests against the 
lengths to which I was carrying it ; mingled with mur- 
murs of surprise that she should be fortunate enough to 
have inspired me with so matchless a love, and earnest 
entreaties that I would renounce my intention of accom- 
panying her, and seek elsewhere the happiness I deserved 
and which, she said, I could never hope to enjoy with 
her. 

In spite of the cruelty of Fate, I found my long-sought 
happiness in her tender gaze, and in the certainty I now 
felt that I possessed her love. I had, indeed, forfeited all 


276 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


that other men hold dear ; but I was master of Manon’s 
heart, the one possession that I prized. What cared I 
whether my remaining days were to he passed in Europe 
or America ? Little did the place of my abode matter to 
me, as long as it insured me the happiness of living with 
my beloved mistress. Is not the whole wide world home 
and country for two faithful lovers ? Do they not find 
in one another parents, kindred, friends — all riches and 
all joys ? 

If there were anything that caused me anxiety, it was 
the dread of seeing Manon exposed to privations and want. 
I imagined myself already with her in some wild and 
uncultivated region, inhabited only by savages. There 
can be none, even there,” thought I, ‘‘as cruel as my 

father and G M ; of that I am convinced. They 

will at least allow Us to live in peace. If the accounts we 
read of them are to be believed, the3^ obey the laws of 

Nature. The passion of avarice, to which G M 

is a slave, and the fantastic notions of honor which have 
made my own father my enemy, are alike unknown to 
them. They will not molest two lovers whose lives, as 
they will see, are as simple as their own.” 

I had thus no fears upon that point ; but I indulged in 
no romantic fancies with respect to the common neces- 
saries of life. I had only too often been brought face to 
face with the fact that there are some privations which 
are unendurable, especially by a delicate girl who has 
been accustomed to a life of ease and abundance. I was 
in despair to think that I had been forced to part with my 
money so uselessly, and that even what little I had left 
would soon be extorted from me by the rascally greed of 
the Archers; for I thought that, with a small sum in 
my possession, I might have hoped, not onl^^ to ward off 
destitution for some time in America, where money was 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT 


277 


scarce, Jput even to establish myself in some business 
there which would secure me a permanent footing-. 

As a result of these reflections, it occurred to me to write 
to Tiberg-e, whom I had ever found ready to lend me his 
friendly assistance. I wrote from the first town throug^h 
which we passed. I did not use any pretext to disg-uise 
my real motive in making- the request ; but simply pleaded 
the pressing- need of money which I foresaw that I should 
be in on my arrival at Havre-de-Grace, whither, I told 



him frankly, I was accompanying- Manon. I asked him 
for a hundred pistoles. 

^‘Send the money to me,’’ I said, ‘Hbroug-h the Post- 
master at Havre. Y ou will readily understand that this is 
the last time I shall trespass upon your kindness, and that, 
now that my ill-fated mistress is being- torn from me for- 
ever, I cannot bear to let her g-o without some small 
comforts which, in mitigating- the hardships of her lot, will 
also help to console the bitterness of my grief.” 

The Archers, as soon as they became aware of the vio- 
lence of my passion, grew so rapacious in their extortions 
that, by continually doubling the price of their slightest 
favors, they soon left me absolutely penniless. The die- 


278 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


tates of love, moreover, forbade my husbanding my 
money. From morning till night I was at Manon’s side, 
oblivious of everything else, and my time was no longer 
measured by the hour, but by whole days. 

When, at last, my purse was quite empty, I found myself 
exposed to all the whims and brutality of these six ruffians, 
who treated me with insufferable insolence, such as you 
yourself witnessed at Passy. My meeting with you was 
a happy respite that Fortune granted me for a short time. 
Your compassion at the sight of my sufferings was the 
only claim that I had upon your generous heart. The 
assistance which you so liberally extended me enabled me 
to reach Havre, and the Archers kept their promise v/ith 
better faith than I had expected of them. 

On our arrival at Havre, I went at once to the Post- 
office. There had not as yet been time for Tiberge to 
answer my letter. I made careful inquiries as to how soon 
I might expect his reply, and found that it could not pos- 
sibly arrive for another two days. By one of those strange 
fatalities which my luckless destiny ever had in store for 
me, it happened that our vessel was to sail on the morning 
of the very day when the post that I was so anxiously 
awaiting would come in. Words fail to describe my 
despair at this intelligence. 

Must it ever be thus ? ” I cried ; must I be always 
singled out for extremes, even in my misfortunes ? ” 

Alas ! ’’ was Manon’s response, “ such unhappy lives 
as ours are surely not worth the pains we take to preserve 
them ! Let us die here, at Havre, dear Chevalier ! Let us 
end our miseries at once and forever in the grave ! Why 
carry the heavy burden of our woes to an unknown land, 
where the most horrible sufferings doubtless await us, 
since it has been chosen as a place of punishment for me. 
Yes, let us die ! ” she again besought me; ‘‘^or do you. 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


279 _ 


at least, put me to death, and then seek a happier lot in 
the arms of some more fortunate mistress ! ” 

“ Nay, nay, sweet soul ! ” I replied ; ‘‘I ask no better 
fate than to be allowed to share your misfortunes.’’ 

Her words made me tremble, for I feared that her spirit 
had been crushed under the weight of her afflictions. 
I forced myself to assume a more hopeful manner, in 
order to dispel from her mind these melancholy thoughts 
of death and despair. I resolved to keep to the same 
course in future ; and subsequent events served to teach 



me that nothing is more calculated to inspire a woman 
with courage than dauntless fortitude in the man she 
loves. 

When I had lost all hope of receiving assistance from 
Tiberge, I sold my horse. The proceeds of that transac- 
tion, added to what remained of your generous gift, put 
me in possession of the small sum of seventeen pistoles. 
Seven of these I laid out in the purchase of some necessar^^ 
comforts for Manon ; the other ten I carefully put by, 
to serve as the foundation of our hopes and fortune in 
America. 


280 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


I had no difficulty in obtaining- permission to join the 
ship. At that time the authorities were glad to find 
young men who were willing to go out and settle in the 
Colony, and my passage and provisions were granted me 
free of cost. 

The mail for Paris was to leave the following day, and 
I took advantage of the fact to post a letter to Tiberge. 
It was a touching epistle, and must have moved him deep- 
ly ; for it inspired him with a resolve that could only have 
originated in a heart that was filled with an infinite 
wealth of generous sympathy for an unhappy friend. 


CHAPTER XX. 


We set sail, and were fortunate enough to have favor- 
able winds throughout the entire passage. I succeeded in 
persuading the Captain to assign a separate cabin to 
Manon and myself. He was good enough to make a dis- 
tinction between us and the common herd of our wretched 



associates. Before a day had passed, I took him aside 
and confided part of my unhappy story to him, in the hope 
of securing considerate treatment at his hands. I did not 
feel that I was guilty of any very atrocious falsehood in 
telling him that I was married to Manon. He pretended 
to believe it, and took me under his special protection, evi- 


282 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT 


deuces of wliicli we received during* the whole voyage. 
He took care that we had good food; and the marked 
attentions which he showed us resulted in our being 
treated with the utmost respect by our companions in 
misery. 

I made it my constant study to save Manon from suf- 
fering the slightest discomfort. efforts to this end 
did not escape her observation ; and her recognition of 
them, together with her deep sense of the extraordinary 
sacrifices which I had made for her sake, rendered her so 
tender and devoted, so full of solicitude on her side con- 
cerning my most trifling wants, that there grew up be- 
tween us an incessant emulation in kindly offices and 
loving attentions to one another. 

I felt no regret at having left Europe. On the contrary, 
the nearer we drew to America the more did I feel my 
heart expand and fill with a sense of peace. Could I have 
been certain that when we arrived there, we should not 
lack the absolute necessaries of life, I should have thanked 
Fortune for having given so happy a turn to all our 
troubles. 

After a voyage of two months’ duration, we at last came 
in sight of the long-looked-for shores. 

The aspect of the country, as we gazed upon it for the 
first time, presented no inviting features to our eyes. 
Nothing was to be seen but a wide sweep of barren and 
uninhabited plain, dotted here and there with a scanty 
growth of reeds and a few trees, with branches stripped 
bare by the wind. There was not a trace of either animals 
or human beings. 

However, the Captain ordered several of the ship’s 
cannon to be discharged, and shortly afterwards we de- 
scried a number of the citizens of New Orleans running 
towards us with lively demonstrations of joy. We had 


THE STORY OF' MAN ON LESCAUT. 


283 


not observed the town, which is hidden by a low hill on 
the side from which we had approached it. 

We were welcomed as though we were visitors from 
heaven. Thronging eagerly around us, the poor colonists 
besieged us with questions concerning the state Oi. France 
and the various provinces in which they had been born. 
They embraced us affectionately, as brothers and as 
beloved comrades who had come to share the miseries 
and loneliness of their exile. 

We walked with them towards New Orleans ; but, as 



we drew near to it, we were surprised to discover that what 
had been hitherto cried up to us as a town of no mean 
proportions, was, in reality, nothing but a collection of a 
few wretched huts, inhabited by some five or six hundred 
persons. The Governor’s residence was a little distin- 
guished from the others by its superior height and situa- 
tion. It stood within some earthwork fortifications, 
around which ran a wide ditch or intrenchment. W e were 
first taken to pay our respects to him. He conferred with 
the Captain for some time in private, and then, advancing 
towards us, he carefully scanned the women who had 
come b3^ our ship, one after another. There were thirty 
in all ; for at Havre we had found another band of them 


m 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


who had joined our own. After a long* inspection of them, 
the Governor sent for a number of the young men of the 
town who were anxious to have wives, and assigned the 
comeliest girls to the leading ones among them, while lots 
were cast for the rest. He had not, as yet, spoken to 
Manon, but when he ordered the others to withdraw, he 
told us both to remain. 

‘‘ The Captain informs me,” he then said, that you are 
married, and that he became convinced during the voyage 
that you are both persons of superior intelligence and 



worth. I will not enter now into the question of what 
has brought you to your present pass ; but if you are, in 
truth, as well-bred as your appearance would indicate, I 
shall spare no pains to mitigate the hardships of your 
lot ; while you, for your part, can do much towards render- 
ing my life in this wild and desolate spot less disagreeable 
than it has hitherto been.” 

I replied in such terms as I thought best calculated to 
confirm the impression which he had formed of us. He 
gave directions that a lodging should be prepared for 
us in the town, and then invited us to remain and take 
supper with him. 

His manners, I thought, were remarkably courteous 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


285 


for a man who was, at best, only the chief of a wretched 
hand of exiles. While there were others present, he stu- 
diously refrained from asking* us any questions regarding 
the leading incidents of our story. The conversation was 
of a general nature, and, despite our heavy hearts, Manon 
and I did our best to help in making it agreeable and 
amusing. 

In the evening the Governor had us conducted to the 
dwelling which had been prepared for us. This we found 
to he a miserable hut, roughly constructed of logs and 



clay, and consisting of two or three rooms on the ground 
floor, with a garret overhead. It had been furnished, by 
his orders, with five or six chairs, and a few of the com- 
monest necessaries of life. 

The sight of this sorry abode seemed to dismay poor 
Manon sadly. Her distress was on m^^ account far more 
than on her own. No sooner were we left alone together 
than she sat down and began to weep bitterly. At first I 
endeavored to console her, but when she admitted that 
she was grieving only for my sake, and that her sole 
thought, in our common misfortunes, was of how much I 
had to suffer, I quickly assumed an air of such confi- 


286 


THE' STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


deuce and even cheerfulness as, I hoped, mig-ht serve to 
encourage her. 

Why should I complain ? I said to her : ‘‘I possess 
all that I ever desired. You love me, dearest, do yon 
not ? What greater happiness have I ever asked for than 
that ? Let us trust the guidance of our fortunes to Prov- 
idence. They do not appear to me to be in such a very 
desperate plight, after all. The Governor seems a kind 
and obliging man. He has already shown a disposition 
to befriend us, and he will not, I am sure, allow us to 



suffer from absolute want. As for this poor cabin and its 
rude furniture, comfortless as they are, you may have 
noticed that there seem to be but few persons here who 
are better housed or furnished than ourselves ; and 
besides,’’ I added, with a kiss, ^^you are the most won- 
derful of alchemists : you transform all things into 
gold ! ” 

“Then you shall be the richest man in all the world,” 
she replied ; “ for, as there never yet was love like yours, 
so it is impossible for man to be loved more tenderly than 
you are loved by me. I am not blind to my own faults,” 
she continued. “lam well aware that I have never been 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


287 


worthy of the matchless devotion you have shown me. 
I have vexed and grieved you so that you could never 
have forgiven me, had it not been for your infinite affec- 
tion and forbearance. I have been thoughtless and fickle ; 
and, even while loving you, as I have always done, pas- 
sionately and almost to distraction, I have shown you 
nothing hut the basest ingratitude. But a change has 
come over me ; how great a change you can scarcely 
conceive. The tears which you have so often seen me 
shed since our departure from France have not once 
been called forth by my own misfortunes. They ceased 
to distress me from the moment when you began to 
share them with me. I wept only out of love and com- 
passion for you. I am inconsolable to think that I should 
have caused you a single moment’s pain in all my life. 
Incessantly do I reproach myself for my infidelities, and 
bow my heart in contrition as I marvei at the sacrifices 
which love has inspired you to make for the sake of a 
miserable girl who has been so little worthy of them, 
and who,” she concluded, with a flood of tears, though 
she were to lay down her very life, could never fully repay 
you for one half of the pangs which she has caused you.” 

Her tears, her words, the tone in which she uttered 
them, all combined to make such a powerful impression 
upon me, that I felt my heart throbbing as if it would 
leap from my bosom. 

Have a care ! ” I said to her, have a care, my dear- 
est Manon ! Such fervent expressions of your love are 
more than my poor strength can bear ; for rapturous joy 
like this is an unaccustomed sensation to me. Kind 
Heaven ! ” I then exclaimed, I have flow nothing more 
to ask of you. Manon’s heart is mine— mine beyond all 
fear or doubt ; mine, as I have longed for it to he that I 
might be completely happy ! Come what may now, noth- 


288 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


ing can shake my happiness : it is firmly established from 
this day forward ! ’’ 

It is, indeed,’’ she responded, “ if it depends upon me ; 
and well do I know where my own happiness is always to 
be found.” 

I retired to rest with my mind filled with these delight- 
ful thoughts, which transformed my humble cabin into a 
palace fit for the proudest monarch on earth. Thence- 
forth America was, in my eyes, an abode of perfect bliss. 

‘‘ Whoever would taste the true delights of love,” I 



would often say to Manon, should come to New Orleans. 
Here it is that the tender passion holds its sway, unruffled 
by self-interest, by jealousy, or by inconstancy! Our 
fellow-countrymen come to these shores in quest of gold : 
little do they dream of the far more precious treasures 
which we have discovered here ! ” 

We carefully cultivated the Governor’s friendship ; and 
a few weeks after our arrival he was kind enough to 
appoint me to an unimportant post which had recently 
become vacant in the fort. Humble as it was, I accepted 
it as a godsend ; for it enabled me to earn an independent 
livelihood. I hired a man-servant for myself, and a maid 
for Manon, and set about regulating our affairs in keeping 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


289 


with our modest income. My way of life was blameless 
and exemplary, and Manon’s was no less so. We lost no 
opportunity of serving our neighbors and doing them 
acts of kindness. This obliging disposition on our part, 
and the amiability of our manners, gained us the confi- 
dence and affection of the whole colony, and we advanced 
so rapidly in the general esteem that we soon ranked as 
the leading persons in the town, after the Governor. 

The innocence of our occupations and the undisturbed 
tranquillity of our lives served insensibly to revive our 
early feelings of piety. Manon had never been an irrelig- 
ious girl ; nor was I to he classed among those reckless 
libertines who glory in adding godlessness to depravity of 
morals. Youth and its passions had been to blame for 
all our past transgressions, and now experience was begin- 
ning to supply the place of age for us, producing the same 
results that increasing years would have brought about. 

Our conversations, which were habitually of a serious 
turn, gradually inspired us with a longing for virtuous 
love. I was the first to propose this change to Manon, 
knowing, as I did, the principles which ruled in her breast. 
She was upright and sincere in all her sentiments ; and 
these are qualities which invariably predispose their pos- 
sessor towards virtue. I explained to her that there was 
one thing lacking to make our happiness complete, and 
that,’’ said I, ‘Ms the approval of Heaven. We are both 
of us too high-minded and pure-hearted to be content to 
live on in the voluntary violation of our plain duty. We 
did so live in France, I own ; and there it was excusable ; 
for it was impossible for us to cease to love one another, 
and equally so for us to satisfy our passion legitimately. 
But in America, where we have no one to consult but 
ourselves, where we need no longer pay any heed to the 
arbitrary decrees of rank and conventional usage, where 


290 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


we are even supposed to be married already, v hat is there 
to prevent our soon actually becoming* so, and thus conse- 
crating* our love by the vows to which religion lends its 
sanction? ‘‘As for myself,” I added, “I offer you 
nothing new in offering you my heart and hand ; but I 
am ready to ratify the gift at the foot of the altar.” 

My words seemed to fill her with joy. 

“Believe me,” she said, “I have thought of this a 
thousand times sipce we came to America. The fear of 
displeasing you has made me lock the wish as a secret 



in my own heart ; for I feel that it would be presumption 
on my part ta aspire to the honor of being your wife.” 

“My wife!” replied I; “why, Manon, you should 
soon be a queen had it been my fate to be born a king. 
Let us hesitate no longer ; we have no obstacles to dread. 
I will speak of the matter to the Governor this very day, 
and confess that we have hitherto been deceiving him. 
Let vulgar natures be deterred by the indissolubility of the 
marriage tie ; they would not fear it were they sure, as 
we are, of its never being other than a bond of love.” 

Manon was in raptures of delight when I left her, after 
this expression of my resolve. I am convinced ^at my 


THE STORY OF 3IAN0N LESCAUT. 291 

intentions would have commended themselves to the 
approval of any man of honor, considering the circum- 
stances in which I was placed ; hopelessly enslaved, that 
is to say, by a passion which it was beyond my power to 
conquer, and assailed by a remorse which I should have 
done wrong to stifle. Can any one, then, accuse me of 
murmuring without just cause when I bewail the harsh- 
ness of Providence in spurning a design which I had 
formed only in the thought of pleasing it ? In spurning it, 
do I say ? Alas ! it punished it as though it had been a 
crime ! Strange ! Heaven had borne with me patiently 
while I was rushing blindfold along the high-road of vice, 
and reserved its severest chastisement for the hour when 
I should seek to return to the path of virtue ! I almost 
fear that my strength will fail me before I can flnish this 
recital of the saddest events that ever fell to the experience 
of man ! 

I waited upon the Governor, as I had arranged with 
Manon, to obtain his consent to the solemnization of our 
marriage. I would gladly have avoided mentioning the 
subject to him, or to any one else, could I have been sure 
that his chaplain, who was then the only priest in the 
town, would have rendered me this service without his 
knowledge ; but as I did not dare to hope that he would 
promise to keep it a secret, I had determined to act openly 
in the matter. 

The Governor had a nephew, named Synnelet, for whom 
he entertained the deepest affection. This Synnelet was 
thirty years of age, and a man of honor and spirit, but 
violent and headstrong in temper. He was unmarried. 
Manon’s beauty had made an impressior upon him from 
the day of our first arrival ; and the numerous opportu- 
nities he had had of seeing her during the nine or ten 
months which had gone by since then, had so inflamed his 


292 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


passioii that he was secretly pining to possess her. As 
he supposed, however, in common with his uncle and all 
the people of the town, that I was really her husband, he 
had mastered his love so far as to let no signs of it escape 
him ; and had even given evidence of a warm friendship 
for me on several occasions when it had been in his power 
to serve me. 

I found him with his uncle when I reached the fort. 
I had no reason for keeping him in ignorance of my inten- 



tions ; and consequently spoke out freely, without raising 
any objections to his being present. The Governor lis- 
tened to me with his usual kindness. I told him part of 
the story of my life, which he heard with interest ; and 
when I asked him to favor me by his presence at the 
coming ceremon^^ he was generous enough to insist upon 
being allowed to defray all the expenses of the wedding 
festivities. I took my leave in the happiest frame of mind 
imaginable. 

An hour afterwards I received a visit from the chap^ 
lain. I supposed that he had come to give me some 
instructions concerning my marriage ; but, after greeting 
me coldly, he informed me abruptly that the Governor 
commanded me to abandon all further idea of it, as he 
had other views for Manon. 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


293 


Other views for Manon ! ” I exclaimed, as my heart 
sank within me : and what may those views he, your 
reverence ? ’’ 

‘‘ As you are well aware,” he replied, ‘^the Governor 
is master here, and, Manon having* been sent out from 
France for the benefit of the colony, it is for him to dis- 
pose of her as he thinks fit. He has not done so as j^et, 
because he believed her to he married ; hut now that he 
has learned from your own lips that she is not, he has 



decided to give her to M. Synnelet, who is in love with 
her.” 

At this my hot indignation got the better of my pru- 
dence. I haughtily ordered the chaplain out of my house, 
vowing the while that if the Governor, or Synnelet, or the 
whole town together, should dare to lay hands on my wife 
or my mistress, whichever they chose to call her, they 
would do so at their peril. 

I then hastened to acquaint Manon with the terrible 
message which I had just received. We came to the con- 
clusion that Synnelet must have worked upon his uncle’s 
mind since my return, and that it was all the outcome of 
a long premeditated design on his part. 

What were we to do ? They had power on their side ; 
we were helpless. Had we been in mid- ocean instead of 


294 


THE STORY OF MAHOH LESCAUT. 


at New Orleans, we could not have been more completely 
isolated, separated as we were from the rest of the world 
b}^ countless leag’ues on every hand. Whither could we 
flee, in a land of which we knew nothing’ save that it was a 
lonely wilderness, inhabited, if at all, by ferocious beasts 
and by savages as inhuman as themselves ? 

I was esteemed by the townspeople, but I could not 
hope to stir up their sympathies in my behalf sufficiently 
to enable me to count upon their rendering me such assist- 
ance as would meet the exigencies of my case. To accom- 



plish that, money was necessary ; and I was poor. More- 
over, the success of a popular uprising was more than 
doubtful, and, had fortune failed us in the attempt, we 
should have been irretrievably ruined. 

All these thoughts passed in quick succession through 
my mind. Some of them I imparted to Manon, and then, 
without heeding her reply, plunged into a new train of 
reflection. No sooner had I come to one decision than I 
threw it aside to adopt another. I talked to myself, 
answering aloud the suggestions of my own mind, and, in 
short, was in a state of agitation which no comparison I 
can think of will help me to describe, so utterly did it 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


295 


transcend anything I have ever experienced before or 
since. 

Manon was observing me closely all the while, and 
read, in the troubled expression of my face, the full extent 
of our danger. More alarmed on my account than on her 
own, the affectionate girl did not even dare to give free 
expression to her fears. 

After long and anxious reflection, I at last resolved to 
go to the Governor and make an effort to move him by 
appealing to his sense of honor, and to the remembrance 
of my unvarying respect for him and of the friendship he 
had hitherto professed for me. 

Manon tried her best to dissuade me from my purpose. 

‘‘You are rushing to certain death,” she said, with 
tears in her eyes; “they will murder you, and I shall 
never see you again. If you must die, I will die first ! ” 

Only after much persuasion did I succeed in convincing 
her that it was absolutely necessary that I shoulu go and 
that she should remain at home. I promised her that 
I would not be absent long. Little did we either of us 
dream that it was she herself who was to be the victim 
of the whole wrath of Heaven and the cruel rancor of 
our enemies. 


CHAPTER XXI. 


I WENT to the fort, where I found the Governor in 
company with his chaplain. In the hope of touching* his 
feelings, I stooped to such abject supplications as would 
have made me die of shame, had I been guilty of uttering 
them in any other cause. I appealed to him in the name 



of every consideration which might fairly be expected to 
influence any heart that was not as savage and pitiless as 
a tiger’s. The inhuman wretch had but two answers to 
all my entreaties, and these he repeated again and again. 
Manon, he said, was at his disposal, and he had given 
his word to his nephew. 

I was determined to keep my feelings under control to 
the very last, and merely said quietly that I had thought 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT 297 

him too much my friend to desire my death, to which I 
would far rather submit than to the loss of my mistress. 

I took my leave under the sad conviction that I had 
nothing- to hope for from this stubborn old man, who 
would have risked his soul a hundred times over to please 
his nephew. However, I persevered in my intention of 
acting with self-restraint to the end ; resolved in my heart 
that, should they carry their injustice to the worst extreme, 
I would make America the theatre of one of the most hor- 



rible and bloody scenes that had ever yet been enacted in 
the name of love. 

I was walking homeward, and pondering over this 
design as I went along, when fate, as if eager to precipi- 
tate my ruin, brought me face to face with Synnelet. He 
read in my eyes some of the thoughts which were burning 
in my brain. As I have said, he was no poltroon ; and 
advancing towards me, he asked : 

‘‘ You are seeking me, are you not ? I am aware that 
my intentions are offensive to you, and have foreseen 
clearly enough for some time past that I should have to 
measure swords with you, sooner or later. Come ! Let 
us decide whether fortune is to favor you or me ! 


S98 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


‘‘You are right/’ I responded; “nothing but death 
can end our differences/’ 

We withdrew to a spot some hundred yards outside of 
the town, where we crossed our swords. I wounded him 
and disarmed him almost simultaneously. He was so 
enraged at his mishap that he refused either to beg me 
for his life, or to renounce his claims to Manon. Per- 
haps I had ever}" right to deprive him of both at one 
thrust, but a generous blood never belies itself, and I 
threw him back his sword. 

“ Once more ! ” I said ; “ and remember that this time 
there is to be no quarter ! ” 

He attacked me with indescribable fury. I was, it 
must be owned, by no means a skilful swordsman, three 
months’ attendance at a school of fencing in Paris having 
taught me all I knew of the art. Love, however, guided 
my sword. Synnelet succeeded, indeed, in running me 
through the arm ; but I seized the opportunity to deal 
him so vigorous a thrust that he fell motionless at my 
feet. 

The joy which is the natural accompaniment of victory 
after a mortal combat was speedily clouded in my case 
by the thought of the inevitable consequences of this 
tragedy. I could hope for neither mercy nor respite in 
the punishment that was sure to follow. Knowing, as I 
did, the Governor’s fondness for his nephew, I felt certain 
that when once his death was discovered, my own would 
not be delayed a single hour. 

Pressing as I knew this fear to be, it was far from con- 
stituting the chief cause of my anxiety. Manon, concern 
for Manon’ s welfare, her imminent peril, and the prospect 
of being separated from her forever, agitated me so 
unspeakably that a film overspread my eyes and shut out 
all surrounding objects, until I scarcely knew where I 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


299 


was standing*. I envied S^mnelet his fate ; for a speedj^ 
death seemed the only refuge I could hope to find from my 
woes. This very thought, however, recalled me sharply 
to myself, and rendered me once more capable of forming 
a worthy resolution. 

‘‘What! ” I exclaimed, “am I weak enough to wish 
to die in order to escape from my troubles ? That would 
be to lose my love forever, and what do I dread more than 
losing her ? Nay ! let me endure the worst that is to 



come, in the defence of my mistress, and think of dying 
only when I have endured that worst in vain 1 ’’ 

I made my way back to the town. On reaching home 
I found Manon half dead with terror and anxiety. My 
presence reassured her ; but it was impossible for me to 
conceal from her the terrible incident which had just oc- 
curred. She fainted in my arms on hearing of Synnelet’s 
death and of the wound I had received. It was more than 
a quarter of an hour before I succeeded in restoring her 
to consciousness. 

I was well-nigh at death’s door myself. Look where I 
would, I saw no hope of safety for either of us. 

“Manon, what is to be done?” I asked her, as soon 
as her strength had somewhat revived. “ Alas ! what is 


300 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


to become of us ? For me there is nothing left but flight. 
You, if you will, can remain at New Orleans. Yes, it is 
better so ! Remain here, where happiness may yet await 
you ; while I go far away from you to court death amid 
savage tribes or in the jaws of some ferocious beast ! ’’ 

Weak as she was, Manon rose and, taking me by the 
hand, led me to the door. 

‘‘Let us flee together! ’’ said she : “We have not a 
moment to lose ! If Synnelet’s body should chance to be 



found, there would not be time for us to make good our 
escape.” 

“ But, dearest Manon,” I asked in dismay, “ where can 
we go? Do you know of any place of refuge ? Would it 
not be better, after all, for you to try to live on here with- 
out me, and for me to give myself up to the Governor of 
my own accord ? ” 

This proposal only increased her eagerness to be gone. 
There was nothing for it but to comply. I had presence 
of mind enough to take with me, before leaving, some 
cordials which I happened to have in my room, and as 
many provisions as my pockets would hold. We told 
our servants, who were in the adjoining room, that we 
were going out for our evening walk, as was our invariable 
habit; and we then hastened away from the town at a 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


301 


more rapid pace than I thought Manon’s feeble strength 
would have allowed. 

Although I was still undecided as to where we should 
seek refuge, I cherished two hopes, without which, indeed, 
I should have preferred death to my dreadful uncertainty 
as to what might be Manon’s fate. I had gained sufficient 
knowledge of the country, during the ten months or so 
that I had passed in America, to understand the best 
methods of dealing with the savages. It was by no 
means certain death to trust one’s self in their hands. I 
had even learned a few words of their language and some 
of their customs, from having been thrown into contact 
with them on various occasions. 

Nor was this desperate resource the only one open to 
me ; another was afforded by the presence of the English, 
who, like ourselves, have settlements in that quarter of the 
New World ; but my heart sank within me as I thought 
of the distance that intervened. In order to reach their 
colonies we should have to traverse barren plains of sev- 
eral days’ journey in extent, and mountains so high and 
rugged that even the strongest and hardiest men found 
them well-nigh impassable. Nevertheless, I clung to the 
hope of deriving some assistance from these two sources, 
trusting that the savages would guide us on our way, and 
that the English colonists would allow us to make our 
home among them. 

We walked on until Manon’s strength gave way,' in 
spite of the fortitude and resolution by which she was 
sustained. We had then travelled a distance of about 
two leagues. In her matchless devotion she had steadily 
refused to stop any sooner, but at last, overcome with 
fatigue, she acknowledged that she could go no further. 
Night had already overtaken us when we threw ourselves 
upon the ground, in the midst of a vast plain, where not 


302 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAm. 


even a tree was to be seen under which to shelter our- 
selves. 

Her first care was to put a fresh bandage on rny wound, 
which she had dressed with her own hands before our de- 
parture. It was in vain that I opposed her wishes ; and, 
indeed, I should only have added the final stroke to her 
already overwhelming distress, had I refused her the sat- 
isfaction of believing me at ease and out of danger before 
she gave a thought to her own preservation; I submitted, 
therefore, and let her have her way for a few minutes. 



receiving her gentle ministrations in shamefaced silence. 
But, as soon as she had satisfied her tender solicitude, with 
what eagerness did mine resume its sway ! I took off all 
my outer garments and stretched them beneath her, that 
she might find the ground a softer couch. Despite her 
loving protests, I busied myself in diminishing the discom- 
forts of her situation by every contrivance that my inge- 
nuity could suggest. 

I lent warmth to her hands by my glowing kisses and 
my fervent sighs. I passed the whole night long in 
watching over her, and praying Heaven to grant her sweet 
and untroubled slumbers. God knows how heartfelt and 


THE STORY OF 3IAN0N LESCAUT. 


303 


earnest were my supplications. Why they were so piti- 
lessly rejected, He alone can tell. 

Forgive me, if I hasten on to the conclusion of a story 
which is unspeakably^ painful to me. Never did mortal 
man experience a more terrible calamity than that which 
I am now about to relate. As long as I live I shall never 
cease to bewail it. But, although the memory of it is ever 
fresh in my mind, my very soul seems to recoil in horror 
each time that I attempt to put it into words. 

We had passed a tranquil night, and it was now draw- 



ing to an end. Believing my beloved mistress to be 
asleep, I scarce dared to breathe, lest I should disturb 
her. As daylight was dawning, I touched her hands, and 
found that they were trembling and icy-cold. I drew them 
up to my bosom, to warm them there. She felt me raising 
them, and, with an effort to press mine in return, she 
murmured in a feeble voice that she believed her last hour 
had come. 

At first I took this to be merely the ordinary language 
of misfortune, and offered only the tender consolations of 
love in response. But her oft-repeated sighs, her silence 
when I questioned her, the convulsive tightening of her 


304 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


hands, in which she still held mine, all forced the convic- 
tion upon me that the end of her sorrows was rapidly 
drawing* near. 

Do not ask me — in the name of pity do not ask me, to 
describe my feelings at that moment, nor to repeat her 
dying words ! 

She was taken from me; giving me tender assurances 
of her love with her last breath. More than this, concern- 
ing that tragic and mournful event, I have not the heart 
to tell you. 

My soul did not take its flight with hers. Doubtless my 
punishment had not as yet been severe enough to satisfy 
the justice of Heaven. It was decreed that I should 
continue, from that hour, to drag on* a forlorn and joyless 
life. Of my own choice do I renounce all hope of ever 
again leading a happy one. 

All that day and all the following night did I lie with 
my lips pressed to my darling’s face and hands. It was 
my Arm intention so to die ; but I reflected, as the second 
day was dawning, that when I was no more, her dear 
body would be in danger of becoming the prey of roaming 
beasts. I determined to bury her, and then to await 
the coming of death upon her grave. I was already 
so near my end, from the enfeebling effects of grief 
and long fasting, that it was only by the strongest 
effort of will that I could stand upright. I was obliged 
to have recourse to the cordials which I had brought 
with me. They revived my strength sufficiently to per- 
mit of my setting about the last sad office which I had 
to perform. Being in the midst of a sandy plain, I had 
no difficulty in scraping a hollow in the ground. I 
snapped my sword in two, in order to dig with it ; but my 
hands served the purpose better. 

I dug a deep grave, in which I laid the idol of my heart. 


THE STORY OF MANOH LESCAUT. 


805 


after carefully wrapping all my clothes around her, that 
she might not come in contact with the sand. But not 
until I had embraced her again and again with all the 
fervor of the most devoted love, did I consign her to the 
earth. Even then I seated myself beside her and gazed 
upon her I know not how long, before I could summon up 
fortitude enough to close her grave. 

At last my strength began to fail me once more, and, 
fearing that it would desert me altogether before I had 
completed my task, I buried forever in the bosom of the 



earth the loveliest and most perfect being that had ever 
yet adorned it. I then stretched myself upon the grave, 
with my face to the sand ; and, closing my eyes with the 
determination of never again opening them, I invoked the 
aid of Heaven, and waited impatiently for death to come. 

Incredible as it may appear to you, throughout the 
whole performance of this mournful rite, not a tear fell 
from my eyes, not a sigh escaped my lips. The depth of 
my affliction, and my fixed determination to die, had 
choked the utterance of all expressions of despair and 
anguish. Nor had I long lain prostrate upon the grave 
before I lost what little feeling and consciousness I had 
remaining. 




*: 1^.- ^ 

« / I J - M ■'• , 

' ni ■ -i (,, 

iaf*TTM!U 




■*^-i 




■■■ ■' ^ 

'« *' rpKH 






•*> - fr' 




. 1 


» • ’ I* 


n * 


/'*V 


"V.# 

w 


Ia>I 


’<^4* 


T \<rA 

*:k MJf'. 


Ur^* :.*f tvl> i 
< '■’^■*4 .4 v*'‘a./:4^ ■■ 

. t ' . t .'■ 

1 

•^i ■* ^'# 'll 

■^*jp^«-.'l* . A. A.. 


't , . \ i “’ %» '■ 



y»'^’ t/vf^- 2:wt - ■ 


*1,. . ' 


.1 t 


R 


V'- - -■■’ . ' ; 


. . .. ' ■’■ . ' ;■,/• ,'^'~ '33:' 

f ■ 




• -r-fV: -v. 'i' ‘j 





i'f f fv;' 


i I »».*, 





»4 


‘ r I 

’% < ,L •' Ml i r ’MBl^ . J ^ 

'> 'flll.'.J. '),VI ’ ■ 



4 -* ' 



306 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


After all that you have just heard, the conclusion of my 
story is of so little interest or importance, that it will 
scarcely repay your trouble in listening to it. 

Synnelet was carried back to the town ; and when his 
injuries were carefully examined it was found that, so far 
from being dead, he had not even received a dangerous 
wound. He acquainted his uncle with aU that had passed 
between us, and his natural generosity made him hasten 
to acknowledge the honorable and magnanimous manner 
in wliich I had behaved. I was sent for, and my absence, 
coupled with that of Manon, led to the conjecture that we 
had taken refuge in flight. The night was too far ad- 



vanced to allow of my then being traced; but the next 
day and the day after tliat were devoted to my pursuit. 

I was found, in an apparently lifeless condition, upon 
Manon’s grave; and the men who discovered me in this 
plight, seeing me stripped of nearly all my clothes, and 
bleeding from my wound, came to the conclusion that I 
had been robbed and assassinated. They carried me into 
the to\viL. The motion restored me to consciousness. I 
opened my eyes, only to bemoan the fact that I was still 
among the living ; and the sighs to which 1 gave utter- 
ance showed them that I was not yet beyond the reach of 
medical aid. It was at once procured for me, with results 
that were only too successful. 

In spite of my weakness, I was placed under close con- 


■' ■'••'■', ^ 

XM n^lmifeujbo I?4T^ A * | 

(ii V U }cM i^iUSd^’rjidi li> IM 1g %i i® 

.tf (V) ' i'«»t t»i n 

Wii itiihf ftft* *. ^wit <3Kt iiit!ji4>tf bi/fnt-i M'P* t^loQO'(i^0 I 

nilu. ^^41 Ji«(3^| ti ybiWif:^>9* y iaiuiliAi 

4, 1(^1} Jii«a «kd 

fl« ^loejo psi4 tsli ^ 

^<M''ljl5^ lirLll-U^i *-rl _ ;^|;= 

iij<nitirt4f^55^at t\(wj AktiJihdai 4 #jil> «;|lr>^^rtW^'Mpa:l ‘ //,; 

^ *‘ • * 'ttn4i"r/ Ml . * 

•tip ooi 4^ft nJiltt tJ ir^^ia r. 



^<!|i0 ^ ft/^jrii ^riVJ M Tob't oi l4?iisp*/ { 

. ipib -^^wjfcoit) Jjaux-<^ ‘; , 

'.iMdiiibaMfv ii> iPiW X v J 

i&t iTi iio 0 O ' 

btiM l-ji >. \^hS4 Mtt ' 

I sw^' koivsth^^^^ !c0m^ ^r/iJ jjD411 

^tci pixf ’^rj45f r^^aim^jcsss 4aai I*^si4jpt’<twarf Aftd * 

X *-*0^ 4i^ut %dl • 

Ulhr' f^rr I 4 p 4I i ’ vI odi ^ 'flu teiUMfO 

•oairil^ri.O'/ciV* 4;4it‘if dl' eliSjlt to > 

l<>a!k|;iy^ bmix^ J JESNtdl i> JA.aaPJI- 

«iliiij;yi /U/yr «<«b(i partm fq pooEO J« jK.ii'#, if iiUi “ 

• %la I ^ 

«£:ib nt&bftu tirw I .^xtAjb&w im Ui Djurtiil lUi 


THE STORY OF MAN ON LESCAUT. 


307 


finement ; and soon afterwards was put upon my trial. As 
Manon was still missing-, I was accused of having murdered 
her in a fit of jealous rage. In my defence, I simply related 
the piteous facts, just as tbe^^ had occurred. Synnelet, not- 
withstanding the paroxysm of grief into which my story 
threw him, was generous enough to intercede in my hehalf , 
and succeeded in obtaining my pardon. 

I was so enfeebled that they were obliged to carry me 
straight from the prison to my bed, to which I was con- 
fined for three months by a dangerous illness. My hatred 



of life did not diminish in intensity. I prayed incessantly for 
death, and for a long while persisted in refusing all reme- 
dies that were offered me. But the design of Heaven in 
punishing me with such severity" had been that I should 
benefit in the end by the misfortunes which it had sent to 
chasten me. The light of divine grace illumined my heart, 
and led it back to sentiments more worthy of my birth and 
early training. Peace gradually revived in my soul, and 
this mental change was soon followed by my complete 
recovery. Submitting myself entirely to the dictates of 
honor and piety, I continued to fulfil the duties of my small 
post, while I awaited the coming of the vessels which 


308 


THE STORY OF 3IANON LESCAUT. 


leave France regularly once a year for that part of 
America. 

I had resolved to return to my native land, there to 
atone, hy a life of virtue and integrity, for the scandals of 
my past conduct. 

Synnelet had made it his care to have the body of my 
dear mistress removed to an honorable place of burial. 

Some six weeks after my restoration to health, as I 
chanced one day to be taking a solitary walk along the 
bank of the river, I witnessed the arrival of a vessel. 



which some commercial enterprise had brought to New 
Orleans. I stood for some time watching her people land. 
What was my intense surprise when, among the new- 
comers who were making their way towards the town, 
I recognized — Tiberge ! 

He knew me again, faithful friend that he was, while as 
yet some distance from me, in spite of the change which 
grief had wrought in my face. He told me that his sole 
motive in making the voyage had been his desire to see 
me once more and to prevail upon me to return to France. 
Upon receipt of the letter which I had written to him from 
Havre, he had started for that town at once, to bring me 
himself the assistance for which I had asked him. He had 


THE STORY OF MAHON LE8CAUT. 


309 


been deeply distressed to hear of my departure, and would 
have followed me immediately^ had he been able to find a 
ship that was ready to sail. After spending* several 
months in quest of one in various seaport towns, he had 
at last found one at St. Male, which was weighing anchor 
for Martinique, and had embarked in her, hoping that he 
would have no difficulty in obtaining a passage from 
Martinique to New Orleans.' The St. Malo vessel had been 
captured on her way out by Spanish pirates, and taken to 
one of their islands. He had contrived to escape, however. 



and, after many rovings and adventures, had luckily fallen 
in with the small merchantman which had just arrived, 
and so succeeded in reaching me safely at last. 

What words could adequately express my gratitude to 
so unselfish and loyal a friend ? Taking him to my house 
I bade him consider himself master of all I possessed. I 
related the various adventures which had befallen me since 
my departure from France, and, in order to gladden him 
with news which he was far from expecting, I told him ear- 
nestly that the seeds of virtue which he had long ago im- 
planted in my^ heart, were beginning to bear fruit which 
would satisfy even him. He declared that this welcome 
assurance amply compensated him for all the hardships of 
his voyage. 


310 


THE STORY OF MANON LESCAUT. 


We spent two months together at New Orleans, await- 
ing the arrival of a vessel from France. At last we sailed, 
and landed, only a fortnight since, at Havre-de-Grace. 

On my arrival, I wrote to my family. My elder brother, 
in his reply, gave me the sad news of my father’s death. 
I shudder, with only too much reason, to think that my 
own misdeeds may have had a share in hastening his end. 

As the wind was favorable I took passage at once for 
Calais, with the intention of going to meet my brother, who 
writes that he will await my arrival at the house of a 
relative of mine a few leagues from here. 


THE END. 





'“■■Ml 







- M .'.^a'^-v-''^ >•" 'U‘.^ 

I V- £. * *• 






^ ,. ‘ . 'i 



i 





« 





i#-; - *(4^ 



f.l 





t 

_ . •• 





1 , - ;; 

r-''^-f' ji. 




o _ ^ s ^ 


V , t ' » 4 <2> 



^ -‘ V , '<<,' 

o Ay o «■ ' • ♦ 

• jp-r. •■ 



O 

■♦ <L''^ «•* 

fO^ ♦. 4^'' . 

o > 


t / « 


^ <!> 





» * 

^ ^ O hO^ ^ O *' a tt* 

y V^ O 

'* ±!£f: ■%>/ 

# <s ^ ^ <Ly ^ 

^ 'o..* 0^ %.*-•.> <' -o.. 

^ -ftr .•'■'•♦ O'" r o " « 




". -^b v^ .' 




qV ^0 1* o ^ 
o «* 



4^* */* ^ bw ' * 

^ ^ <L^ O ^ 

^ ^ ® " ® < V ^1, *•/-»" A' 

^ aO^ S ^ ^V f ^ ^ aO^ 

./^Va*' .<^y 


i\' ^ ^ * 

■iy « 


* ^ % '* 






I ^ 

a o 

^ ^ *»* 
<* 

jA'’ • ^ ' * ^ 


«* 'j^ 4'^' ^ ^ii///y>^ » 


b K 


•% ^ V *0^ %’VL''-v V V 



o _ ,C W 





















